Chakra and Magic
by Carumati
Summary: Four ninjas, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and Hinata, were chosen by Tsunade to represent Konohakagure, and to an extent, all of the Ninja Countries, to the outside world and the Magical communities. Their mission: guard Hogwarts and one Harry Potter. Xover.
1. Strangers on This Land

Author's Note: I would like to point out that this story is seriously embedded in an Alternate Universe. There are not any problems back in the Ninja Countries besides the usual tension between the five great Ninja Nations. Though it's not of great importance, Sasuke did not deflect to Sound: Naruto did not go on his two-and-a-half year trip with Jiraiya to who-knows-where. Naruto will still have the Kyuubi inside of him. The whole Konoha Twelve have been promoted to chunin. The main characters, ninja-wise, are tokubetsu jounins.

I won't be abandoning FireStorm. I'll update this in my spare time, as this story is just for fun or something like that, which means that this story will be a whole lot less formal in its punctuation and mistakes, but if you find any specifics, please tell me. I want your opinion!

The chapter numbers in italics corresponds to the actual events in the chapters of the Order of the Phoenix. For example, when I put down _Chapter 1_, the same time these events are happening, Dudley is getting demented, hence _Dudley Demented_. You'll understand better if you just checked the chapter list of the actual Harry Potter book 5. Just assume that the things I don't mention that are in the book are still happening.

**Thanks to **_**Scratchy Wilson**_** who kindly beta-ed the entire thing!**

I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto or the quote.

"Speech"- English.

"_Speech_"- Japanese.

Without further ado

_sky-sun-neighbor presents…_

**Chakra and Magic**

**One: Strangers on This Land**

_((They came upon the shore and were lost))_

_Chapter 1: Dudley Demented_

Naruto stared. The man was wearing the weirdest colors he had ever seen, and he was the one that had worn orange in his genin days. Suns and moons and stars dispersed on a bright purple background… for Kami's sake, the old man was wearing a dress! This occasion called for a snide remark, and he was just about to give one, before a voice in his head that sounded like Baa-chan yelling, "_This man is powerful and he has called for our assistance. We have to repay him for favors that he had done for the late Sandaime, so don't give him a reason to come back asking for anything more while we get no pay. You are to not offend him or I will hurt you so hard that..._" and left the rest to his imagination.

"Dumbledore-sama?" Shikamaru, who stood behind the blond tokubetsu-jounin, asked his client.

The old man's eyes seemed to shine with a non-existent light, "You must be the castle-guard that Tsunade Senju sent to me. Please, call me Albus, as we will be working closely for this year."

The ninjas, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and Hinata, all exchanged glances and nodded, they would be showing him proper respect. The Godaime's warning was still ringing prominently in their heads, "_The village will not be paid for this mission, in fact, I feel like I have been blackmailed into this whole affair, though I'm not quite sure how… The favors that he pulled and his mild talks about some psycho-maniac killer that has already contacted the Mainland Japan is putting me on edge_," The lady paused to take a swig at her newly opened sake bottle, "_You will be compensated later, you will be reporting to me weekly, more often if things comes up. For now, I'm putting this as an un-ranked mission. Our forces are low and stretched; you guys are the only ones I could send out in such short time_." The half finished bottle slammed down and Tsunade leaned over the desk, eyes narrowing, "_These Magic people, I don't know about them. Be on your guard_."

"I hope that the trip was to your satisfaction," Dumbledore remarked, turning and gesturing the ninjas to follow. Naruto grunted in disbelief, channeling Sasuke for a moment. Neji elbowed him sharply in the ribs as a silent reprimand. They had arrived via old boot- meaning that, somehow, the boot had taken them from the Hokage's office to the middle of an alleyway surrounded on three sides by brick walls. They had some time to reestablish their bearings and examine their surroundings for a whole day, from morning till night.

They had waited for the messenger anxiously at the designated spot, wondering how they should act: childish, relaxed, tense, respectful, emotionless. The moon hid behind the clouds. Their client had also appeared in the air with a slight popping noise. Even though Albus oozed a grandfatherly countenance similar to the deceased Sandaime's, the eccentric old man also oozed power that charged the air with a slight hum. Shikamaru couldn't decide whether it was an intimidation tactic to command respect from them or a normal occurrence. At least the Sandaime suppressed his chakra aura.

Again, Tsunade's pre-mission briefing echoed in their heads, "_You all know about wizards and their magic, which is really just a slightly alternate form of our chakra. Now, how many of you know how to speak English?_" Only Naruto didn't raise his hand, "_It's no surprise for you Hinata, you are a clan head. Neji? Well that's not too surprising_." She had dully blinked at the Nara heir, "_I bet you decided to learn the language because you were bored right, Shikamaru? Your family never required the skill._" The boy had only shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. The Hokage had turned to her adopted younger brother, "_And Naruto. Oh don't worry, just make about a hundred clones and have these three teach you. I know you're a fast learner._" She had brushed off the boy's frantic protests and continued, "_Now when then portkey activates_," she sent a disgusted look at the ragged, smelly boot, "_it'll drop you off at the entrance to a hotel called the Leaky Cauldron. You will have a day to observe the culture before meeting up with Albus Dumbledore at the entrance to Diagon Alley._"

Two knocks and Shizune had walked into the office carrying a scroll and had handed it to her mentor, muttering into Tsunade's ear. The four-man team had heard only a couple words of the whispered conversation, "-_know-who... -Potter?_"

Tsunade had opened the scroll, eyes squinting as she read, "_It's from the daimyo. Apparently, all the other ninja countries will be closely watching this mission._"

"_Really?_" Naruto had asked, "_Why?_"

"_Did you sleep in the Academy?_" Neji had muttered, exasperated. "_The ninja countries have had a strict policy of isolationism for about a hundred years, since the Sage of the Six Paths created jutsus as we know them. The daimyos have been following the activities of the Outer World and Mainland Japan, but none of that is under the Hokage's control._"

A puzzled look had crept over Naruto's face, "_Neh? Then why didn't Baa-chan just refuse the mission?_"

The Slug Sannin had rubbed her eyes, "_I suspected that Albus Dumbledore had spoken to or threatened our daimyo before coming to me, as I had orders to accept this mission_." She checked a clock and motioned her subordinates to touch the ugly boot, "_This mission is delicate enough in its diplomacy and our image to the outside world. Who knows, maybe we'll be doing missions for them if our performance is impressive. Little information is known about these magical communities besides the things I have already told you. This Voldemort person even has Mainland Japan so uneasy, that rumor is that they are planning to negotiate a partnership with the ninja countries if anything troublesome were to happen_." An unsettled silence followed her assessment- this was serious business. Direct diplomacy between the Ninja Continent and Mainland Japan was an alarming idea. She had glanced at a watch again, "_Three seconds… Good luck!_"

The tug at the navel had been highly unpleasant.

The elderly wizard directed the foursome through a brick wall turned passage-way and into a bustling market bazaar called Diagon Alley with people in similarly outrageous dress.

However, the tour through the market was cut short. The moment they walked into this mysterious community, attracting some odd looks from the locals, a large brown owl flew above the group and dropped a letter into Dumbledore's outstretched hand. After scanning the message, the aged wizard rolled it back up and turned to his companions. "It seems that we will not be able to proceed as planned. For that I am sorry. I have been called to an important meeting. Feel free to browse, but go the Leaky Cauldron when you wish to retire, just tell the owner that I sent you." And he disappeared as he had come, leaving only a soft pop.

Naruto stared, "_What… he's gone. What did he just do?_" Nobody answered; Hinata gave him a small smile and shrugged.

Shikamaru quickly took charge, "_Everybody has the money that Tsunade gave us right?_" All nodded. "_Good, I say that we split up and do a bit of recon. I'll look for any sort of books or old newspaper articles about the magic community. Naruto_," The blond immediately snapped to attention, "_I need you to make a couple of henged clones to help me… not now._" He added irritably, "O_ut of the public eye._" The other pouted.

"_Then I'll look for some magical bag to put the stuff in, right?_" Naruto offered, pumping his fist in the air.

"_I'll get the supplies_," Hinata chimed in, "_I could also get clothes for all of us so we don't stick out._"

Neji added in, "_And anything else that might be useful to us. I'll accompany you Hinata-sama._" His Byakugan was activated and he made sure to hold Shikamaru's gaze for a moment longer than necessary.

Shikamaru sighed, "_Good, we'll meet at that Leaky Cauldron place at night. And remember, we're still being watched._" He bent his head over and barely moved his lips, eyes darting to and fro, indicating there were spies in his peripheral vision. "_I don't know if our watchers can speak our language, or if there's some sort of magic that can let them understand us, but I'm not discussing the details of this mission until Naruto manages to put up his privacy seals._"

"_Hai._"

_Chapter 2: A Peck of Owls_

The boy with the pony-tail and the boy with spiky yellow hair ducked into a small side alleyway and were momentarily out of sight. Then the dark haired boy headed toward Flourish and Blotts while the other headed in the opposite direction, arms hooked behind his head, whistling. "The blond is mine," Nymphadora Tonks grinned. "He looks like an interesting one." She waved goodbye to Alastor Moody and Dedalus and began trailing her charge.

The boy didn't look like much, dressed in some weird ankle sandals, cargo pants, and a dark orange shirt with some mesh cloth underneath; he had a nondescript pouch attached to his leg and to his waist. Dumbledore had said that he had hired the best ninjas from the most powerful nation in the ninja countries had to offer on such short notice. What the nation, Fire Country, if she remembered right, could give should be good enough. But the boy, she double checked her papers and didn't find a name, was just a boy, probably younger than Harry Potter. 'And they are suppose to protect him and the castle?' she wondered and couldn't help but snort at the idea.

The blond kid had been looking around the shops and scanning a small book periodically; she supposed that it was a Japanese-English pocket dictionary, 'He isn't used to our language. Suspect that he had just been introduced to it.' She followed him in multiple disguises, young girl, old man, schoolgirl teenager, so far her plan worked, she went unnoticed. He kept looked at all the shops in total awe, nimbly dodging the bustling crowds that were rustling by him, staring at some owls before continuing on his way. At last he stopped in front of Barnaby's Baggage and Luggage.

He consulted with his dictionary for a few seconds, muttering some unknown words. After letting out a loud, "Yatta!" he ran inside, she placed a notice-me-not charm and strolled in. The shop was packed, similar to the other shops that resided in Diagon Alley. Aisles and aisles of shelves were full of all sorts of bags of different colors and different sizes. He wandered through the store in a kind of daze, squinting up at the merchandise, trying to read the labels, muttering to no one in particular. Loosing his patience over the decision of his selections, the boy ran up to the front counter and cleared his throat, catching the store owner's attention.

"Yes?" The old man looked over his glasses.

The younger boy squirmed under the gaze, "I… ano… baggage?" He stretched his arms out wide to indicate dimensions, "would like a giant luggage."

With his fingers tapping the wooden desk, the man frowned in thought, then brightened, "Ah yes, foreigner, I have the solution. How about this magically light-weight and expanded-dimension luggage?" With a flourish, he pulled onto the desk one green carry-on suitcase with rollers. The customer leaned over the desk in eager anticipation. "Beautiful eh? Four compartments, records your magic signature into its codes, able to record more than one too. Each compartment has a personal stretchable library and storage place that can instantly give you a list of what you have and can summon anything you want that's in the compartment into your waiting hands." The boy's eyes grew larger. "Weighs as light as a feather. And it's on sale at only twenty galleons!"

"Twenty galleons?" the boy parroted, "Hai! Hai!" The boy shouted, "I'll buy!" Money was handed over; the blond swung the luggage off of the table. On his way to the exit, the auror noticed his eyes flicker in her direction ever so slightly and he left the shop with a rather puzzled expression on his face.

The sun of England was uncomfortably hot at this time of the day, but it didn't deter people from going shop to shop. The boy was obviously unused to such a concentration of people, as noted by his stiff posture every time a crowd of chatting witches and wizards passed by. He weaved his way through the masses of people so quickly that Tonks had a hard time catching up, unexpectedly coming to a stop in front of Ollivander's Wand Shop. Hesitantly, he stepped in with a blank face. Tonks, once again, had to follow.

Tonks hadn't stepped foot in the familiar shop since she was eleven. Nothing had changed however, the wooden floors were still un-scuffed and polished, the rows and rows of small thin boxes containing wands were stuffed into small cubbies. The workrooms were still upstairs. The boy looked around warily, "Hallo?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," an old wizened voice said, causing the Auror to have a mini heart-attack, "What a surprise it is for you to be here."

"Eh?" The boy's, Naruto's left hand jumped to the side of his pouch, before loosening up upon seeing that the voice belonged to an old man with bright, pale eyes. "I didn't know that you were here! How you know my name?" He made a show of clutching onto his heart. It was just barely there; Tonks saw that even though Naruto had seemly relaxed, his blue eyes were shifting from window to door, looking for any possible escape routes. Every fiber of his muscle was ready to move, but he held himself in a regular manner. His voice inflexion was like a normal teen's, but his eyes were temporarily hardened into someone who had been in a lot of fights. This, she realized, was probably a slight hint of what a ninja was.

"I know everyone that's going to come into my shop."

Naruto cocked his head to the right in curiosity, "I'm not buying anything; I just wonder about the chakra feel here. There's a lot." He hurried to explain.

"Everyone who enters my shop should leave with something of mine." Ollivander moved toward a side room, the boy followed, "Today was an interesting day for me. Before you, there were two new customers, a boy and a girl, siblings, with pupil-less eyes."

"Neji and Hinata-chan!" The confirmation came.

"Yes, it was most intriguing. And I convinced them to each get a staff, since I thought that it would be most beneficial for them. I think I should try and choose one that's suitable for you." Tonks gasped, only people with abnormally high magic levels can wield a staff. The last person in England who carried one was Merlin. "I don't think anybody from your country is suitable for a wand. I'm already anticipating my next encounter with the last one from your group."

"Meh, Shikamaru? He'll be too lazy to hold it." Naruto snorted.

The wandmaker beckoned his customer up a set of winding staircases and into a closed off room. The door closed behind the two. The auror sighed, running her fingers through her now brown hair; she would have no way of trailing him now. She waited in a dark corner and mentally prepared her report for Dumbledore, 'Young, age is predicted to be in the early teens. Seemly harmless but can attack at any moment, and see Mad-Eye Moody. Every one of them is going to be wielding staffs. Do not underestimate.'

Tonks heard pecking sounds behind her; there was an owl at the window whose gaze was directed at her. "Hey there little guy," she whispered once outside. She had a soft hoot in response, the letter, with a phoenix insignia was dropped into her hands and the owl flew away. She flipped the letter back and forth, tapped her wand on the cover to detect any spells, and then she examined the wax seal for authenticity: check. She then muttered a temporary privacy charm around her perimeter. Puzzled as to why the Order would try to get in contact with her in the middle of a mission, she opened the letter and read the coded contents.

'You have been selected as the member of the Advance Guard whose job would be escorting the son of the phoenix: report to Headquarters immediately for further briefing.' Eyes grew as big as saucers; the Advance Guard was going to escort Harry Potter? Excitement bubbled in her. She was looking forward to meeting the boy-who-lived.

She leaned against the walls of a building and burned the letter with a simple spell.

_Chapter Three: The Advance Guard_

The room was large and had a dome shaped ceiling. The walls and the floor were made out of wood. Shikamaru leaned against the bed frame. "_So we all have staffs that we're supposed to keep secret about. How unusual must it be for someone to have one?_" The Nara mused while nursing a drink called Butterbeer and flipping through the newspaper. "_Interesting, it cost only a galleon for me._"

"_Same here._" Naruto said. Hinata and Neji nodded. "_This whole place is really strange_," He continued, "_I was being followed by this woman who could do a henge jutsu without chakra._"

"_A bloodline._" Neji suggested.

"_Yeah, maybe. She left when I went with the old man to pick a staff. I'm pretty sure the old man knew that she was there, but he didn't say anything._" Naruto shifted into a more comfortable position on his bed.

"_He was showing his neutrality, which is good, because he's strong and powerful in his own way_," The Hyuuga prodigy stated, "_Hinata-sama and I were followed by this oddly short old man. The wand maker pretended to be oblivious_." He fingered his staff, which looked like a standard issued bo more than anything else. Shikamaru wondered why they had to hide the fact that they had staffs to the general public but could reveal them to Dumbledore's men. There must be a code of secrecy among Dumbledore's men. He scanned the newspaper, attempting to deduce the facts from the horribly overblown and biased reporting. He hypothesized that there was perhaps a group of people lead by the powerful wizard that went against the Ministry funding or meddling with this 'Daily Prophet.' After all, powerful people always have followers. The simple truth was, Dumbledore and the Minister were at odds in their opinion of the return of Voldemort.

If that was the case, the Minister might not even know of their arrival, Shikamaru thought with slight dread. He detested politics.

The four of them had met at the pub and asked the owner of the establishment for some lodgings, making sure to add in a word about Dumbledore. Due to thriving business, the innkeeper, Tom, was reluctant to give each ninja an individual room. Compromising, Tom asked them to all share an upgraded room that had four beds. Upon entering, Naruto had run up to the corners of the walls, plastering privacy seals on each corner of the room and on the entrances and windows before claiming the bed nearest to the door. Each nin was lounging on their individual beds, the floor between them was a pile of books, animal parts, plants, glass vials, and other items.

"_I wish my staff was as cool as yours._" Naruto looked up from his work of making seals, "_My staff is smooth and strong and all, but it looks so… lumpy._"

"_It's the wood, Naruto-kun. Different woods have d-different textures._" Hinata examined her own staff with her Byakugan activated, "_its construction is very delicate yet sturdy and it's full of chakra and soaked in some sort of liquid and hollowed out with many small channels. There are many feathers and hairs and other sort of objects embedded in this._"

"_We can do bad-ass jutsus with these?_"

"_I think so. Ollivander-san said that we just have to pump our chakra, or magic through. It should help with our control too._" Her eyes returned to normal. "_Shikamaru-kun, what are you reading?_"

"_Hmm?_" The boy looked up from his pile of newspapers. "_It's just the recent news. It's strange how the Daily Prophet hasn't been talking about this Voldemort, but they are putting in liberal amounts of insults and jabs at the Boy-who-lived._" His head ducked under the papers again, "_How troublesome._"

"_The_ _Boy-who-lived is Harry Potter and the You-know-who is Voldemort, right?_" Naruto squinted his eyes in thought, pausing in mid brush, "_Man, what's with all these stupid nicknames? Is it like some sort of fad in this country?_"

Shikamaru shrugged, "_Maybe. It just shows us that the British Ministry is wholly incompetent. Are you done yet, Naruto?_"

"_Yeah, yeah, hold your horses._" The blond boy muttered as he finished his last seal. He grabbed the luggage smacked some seals onto the surface, "_Impervious seals…_" He opened each of the four compartments, "_Stasis seals… Ok!_" He flashed a full smile at his teammates, "_Fill her up!_"

OoO

More than three days came and went for the four shinobis. They had spent their time walking around in their new clothes and cloaks which Hinata had bought from Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. The kunoichi had assured them that she had privately henged into each one of them to get their exact sizes; the boys weren't sure whether to be happy or disturbed. The days were almost carefree, given that after the first day that they had stayed here, they weren't followed by anybody suspicious. Shikamaru said that they must have passed some sort of trust test. Neji, the more pessimistic one, claimed that something must have come up for Dumbledore to pull their watchers out.

And so the days were spent researching the British Magical Community and its history, and exploring more areas of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. One night, when all four of them were getting ready for bed, somebody walked to their door with heavy footsteps and knocked on the door. Naruto whispered that whoever was on the other side of the door must be bigger than Akimichi Chouza. And no one in Konoha wanted to anger the usually benevolent clan head: the results are highly destructive.

Neji was chosen to open the door. "Ye…?" The next words died in his mouth as his gaze climbed upwards.

The visitor was a man of massive proportions, big body, big hands, big head, big everything, so big, it was almost unnatural. The four kids stared at him speechlessly as the man bent under the door frame and greeted amiably, "My name's Hagrid. Dumbledore sen' me here to pick up four kids from the Nin… er Japan. Are yeh they?"

_Chapter Four: Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place_

Introductions were made and given. It turned out, Hagrid was a genuinely nice guy who loved to chat. Naruto immediately took a liking upon the big man and the two of them were engaged in a conversation about the school, named Hogwarts, which they were going to. Hagrid, who was the gameskeeper for their destination, had given them another portkey, this time it was a patched up, pointy hat, which transported them, again unpleasantly, to another magical community which Hagrid called Hogsmeade.

"Yeh have te understan', Hogwarts dun allow porkeys in," he told them.

The rest of the journey was done on foot; the ninjas were forced to walk at a regular pace due to their burly companion, towards the big castle in the distance. The trip was mostly silent, due to the open-mouth gapes the three tokubetsu jounins were giving to the ancient citadel which grew larger and larger as they approached it. Behind them, "_Hogsmeade and Hogwarts: another fad in this country, but this time it's about pigs…_" Naruto muttered "_I swear_," luggage rolling merrily along behind him. But as they got closer to the school, even his mouth clicked shut.

Hagrid chuckled at the awe-filled expression of his young companions; it was easy to get star struck by such a magnificent building. The castle was huge and intimidating against the backdrop of the night sky. It was like a fortress and a palace all mixed into one, stone walls that towered over you, humming with power and chakra seals. Comprised of multiple curving and straight walls that had many illuminated windows, the castle easily was a couple stories high and could probably fit above a couple hundred people.

They came to two massive wooden doors. Naruto craned his neck, his joints making distinctive popping noises, looking up. The giant man knocked twice, "Open up, it's me, Hagrid."

Something clicked and twisted on the other side of the double doors. Slowly, the doors swung outward, forcing the teens to step back, revealing an older woman. The giant man tipped his hat, "Professor McGonagall, I brought them."

The woman had graying brown hair and a stiff countenance. Her eyes reminded the nins of a cat. Naruto discreetly sniffed the air: she smelled like a cat, too. She had a pointed black, wide-brimmed hat, and black robes. She held a candle, her eyes judging the kids, her face expressionless. Finally, she spoke, "Very well. I'm Professor McGonagall. Please come in, we've been expecting you."

_Chapter Five: The Order of the Phoenix_

The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London. Inside was a dining room that showed hints, that, although it had been unused in years and was quite dusty, it had once held a certain pomp and elegance. Around the dining table sat a handful of adults and teenagers, among them was one Harry Potter. "But Voldemort is back!" Ignoring the winces from his fellow listeners, he kept plowing through, "Shouldn't there be protection? Won't he attack the Ministry? Diagon Alley? Hogmeade? Hogwarts?"

Mrs. Weasley was visibly startled and looked nervously at her husband. Mr. Weasley smiled tiredly. "Arthur, I really don't think we should be telling him."

The man waved her away, "They're going to find out sooner or later, Molly dear. We'll just be preparing them for the new year." He cleared his throat, all eyes were on him. The other adults were observing quietly, all grateful that it was Mr. Weasley who has the burden of explaining the situation. "Ministry, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade: those places are out of the Headmaster's jurisdiction to control, Harry, but he did hire some bodyguards for Hogwarts." The Weasley patriarch leaned in, facial expression entirely serious, "I don't know how, but he managed to bring four ninjas over from the Ninja Continent."

All the non-Order members' eyes grew wide, except for Harry's and Ron's, who only blinked in confusion. Tonks scratched a tanned cheek with a quill tip, leaving ink blots on her skin, "I know, I was shocked too when he dropped the news onto us. But I trailed them for a day, along with Moody and Diggle."

"Really?" Bill turned his attention to his partner, as did everybody else in the room, "How was it?"

The metamorphagus gave a sly grin, "Never underestimate them. I think they're hiding their true strength behind such cute bodies." Lupin coughed out his tea.

"Wait, what?" Harry shook out of his stupor and asked incredulously, "Ninjas? I thought that ninjas weren't real."

Hermione shot an exasperated look over to her long time friend, "Honestly Harry, I keep telling you that listening to Professor Binns would be helpful to you one day."

Harry turned to his other friend. "I never heard of ninjas, mate." Ron shrugged, "I'm just as lost as you are."

Hermione took a deep breath and sighed a soft, yet audible, "Boys." Regaining composure, she started her lecture, "The Ninja Continent is a set of countries that are located in the Pacific Ocean, right east of Japan. They can't be contacted by muggles outside of their country but I heard that muggles live by them, side by side, aware of their magic." Harry's mind spun around, a whole continent where muggles knew about their counterparts' magic?

"They haven't been heard of for more than a hundred years back, before they isolated themselves from outside politics, and back then, they weren't too powerful either. Now they only talk to the Japanese magical government. There's a sort of mixed up space-time-dimension that hides their continent," Lupin added in his two cents, "Not much is known about them. Except that they hire out their services for money."

"Well, not much officially has been known about them. I heard that they are made up of military regimes; each is ruled by a single dictator. I also heard, by word of mouth, that the ninjas are frighteningly powerful." Sirius leaned back. "Dumbledore said to me that he had to demand their services at the last minute, something about the Lords there and their politics. So they only sent four ninjas who might not even be the best of the best. His explanation was pretty confusing."

"I'll be happy with what we can take. They're ninjas for Merlin's sake," Bill said quietly.

"The ninjas are that good?" Harry asked skeptically.

"You kidding me, mate?" Fred asked from down the table. "It doesn't get out often, but it's said ninjas could do crazy things, magic and physical. Their bodies were trained to be top notch soldiers. Japan isn't caught up in any bad diplomacy because of their close ties with the Ninja Continent. The ninjas there might not be good enough to do little intricate spell work with wands, but the rumor goes that they can do wand-less magic, easily, without breaking a sweat."

"The individuals there are powerful. Everybody wants to be friends with the Lords of the Ninja Countries," George finished with a grin, playing up the role of the elder-brother-who-tells-scary-stories-to-his-siblings-and-gets-a-kicked-out-of-their-petrified-expressions. "The only reason the British fought with the Japanese in the last world war with Grindelwald was because the Ninja Countries were too busy in their own civil war to give a damn about us. Makes you wonder how Dumbledore got them to help, eh?" He elbowed his twin in the ribs and raised an eyebrow.

"I heard that they train ninjas starting from when they're children," Bill said, staring into his teacup. "I heard that they kill for money."

A morbid silence filled the room. Sirius leaned comfortably back in his chair and met the eyes of Lupin, a small message flew between them. Mundungus had long gone back to sleep. Bill still was staring at his tea leaves, as if trying to divine them while his father rubbed his own temples, trying to get rid of a headache. Tonks slumped back in her chair, a sullen look to her face. Harry tried to interpret the body language: did the Order not agree with Dumbledore's actions?

"So yes," Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat and smiled, "there will be ninjas at Hogwarts this year. I'm willing to allow discussions to continue tomorrow morning, but it's late." She gave a friendly pat to Harry's back, "Time for bed." Sirius half-shrugged but did not argue. One by one the young wizards and witches stood up, and Harry, recognizing the end of a conversation, followed suit.

_Chapter Six: The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black_

Hagrid nudged the four ninjas in and waved good bye to them and said in his gruff voice, "If yeh want, come teh my cabin teh visit."

"Bye Hagrid-san!" Naruto waved back at the lumbering figure. The double doors closed, he turned around, "_I like him!_" He chirped.

Hinata giggled behind her hand.

"Please come." The elder witch said with a slightly impatient tone. They followed her through the corridors without speaking. Taking the lead, Shikamaru could tell that this woman was all business and made a few discrete hands signs behind his back to signal his teammates to stay silent. The walls were lit up by gas lamps and torches and he wondered whether the magical community was so primitive as to not yet have electric lighting, but shrugged off the question. The ambient magic in the castle must disrupt any sort of modern technology. Hopefully, the modern shinobi technology would fare better.

The whole place was eerily beautiful, the high ceilings had an aesthetic that was never seen in the Land of Fire. They walked up a series of grand staircases. Neji looked around with his Byakugan activated. He saw Naruto's head turning this way and that, looking at the moving staircases that just seem to randomly move wherever their whims directed them to. At least Hinata-sama was conducting herself, despite her own interests, like a proper noble heiress. The walls had privacy seals inside of them too, perhaps not derived from any sort of chakra paper but carved into the stone blocks themselves. His Byakugan could not penetrate through the walls, how fascinating. He directed some chakra toward the Nara heir and made some quick hand signs to him, '_Eyes not through_.' Shikamaru nodded.

They stopped climbing at the third floor, and headed off into a series of hallways. Naruto tried to commit a mental map into his head. So many twists, so many turns, so many walls, this was like a three-dimensional maze and therefore a ninja's dream playground.

"I apologize for not giving you a proper tour of the castle, but each staff member will be busy in the coming days for the school term starts," the woman stopped in front of a portrait of a young girl with white hair, "This will be the entrance to your quarters, her name is Ceres Le Fay. You can choose a password that will grant you passage. The password can be changed at any time if you so wish."

"Make it 'ramen'!" Naruto cheered in the back.

"No!" The other two boys yelled a split second later. McGonagall raised a single eyebrow.

"It has to be a word that we all know but don't speak of out loud." Neji announced. "Not 'ramen', not 'chakra', not 'jutsu', not 'Byakugan', not 'Hokage'…" Naruto pouted and crossed his arms.

"Ano, um. 'Sharingan,' would that work?" Hinata meekly offered. She blushed under the sudden attention. Shikamaru made a thoughtful noise.

"Great!" Naruto whooped. "And Sasuke-teme isn't here, it be perfect!" He turned to the pale girl in the portrait, "Password is Sharingan!"

"Sure," She kindly smiled back, "Welcome to the Green Quarters." The portrait swung open.

Naruto was the first to step inside, "Sugoi! Hinata, look! Look!" Hinata disappeared inside behind him. Neji rolled his eyes upward before shooting a look back at Shikamaru, and then he too followed his younger teammates.

Shikamaru stayed outside with the stern lady who spoke first, "Due to some things that have popped up, I'm afraid that the Headmaster will not be able to properly greet or discuss to you what you are suppose to do for the remainder of the mission. In fact, he will be busy for the better part of this week; this amount of time should allow you to familiarize yourselves with your surroundings. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily. Any questions?"

He examined her words; she refused to say any more than she had to. The old witch was, as he regarded her with cool eyes, intimidated, but he admired her ability to stay collected. Their 'guide' had failed to even talk about some specific landmarks and any information regarding the castle on their way up. Stiff yes, collected yes, calm no. "Yes. Is there any place where we can train our skills in private?" He inquired with a flat voice.

He heard in the portrait Naruto's loud voice, "_Dibs on this bed!_"

"Skills?" She replied with a slightly fainter voice.

A nod, "We are ninjas. We have to constantly hone our abilities."

The elder witch visibly paled and Shikamaru had to wonder what the Outer World thought of his people. "Well there is the Room of Requirement, but I wouldn't suggest it unless you are willing to train at night because the Room is never locked. There are some empty classrooms, yes, I think they would work." She waved a stick… wand. A piece of thick paper appeared in the air, the boy caught it as it floated down. Written in English were the directions to the Room and the schedules for individual classes for the school year. On the back was a drawn map of the entire complex. "Does that satisfy you?"

Shikamaru rolled up the parchment. "Yes." He gave a low bow, "Thank you McGonagall-san, we'll be seeing you tomorrow." He walked through the painting, which closed shut behind him. After a brief scan of his surroundings, his eyes shot up to the source of Naruto's shouting. He sighed as there was still a mission report to be written and sent out by the end of the day. "_I'm going to need to borrow Naruto's toads. Naruto will have to plaster privacy seals onto every wall and corner of this place. Troublesome._"

OoO

Naruto walked along the ceiling of the Great Hall examining the chakra coated ceiling. This was the coolest genjutsu ever. One can't even cancel it out with a simple 'Kai', because the chakra control comes deep within the castle foundation. Hinata had voiced her thoughts that the castle had a sort of personality; Shikamaru didn't doubt her at all. If he tilted his head back, he could see the hanging lights that hovered a couple feet away from him. He walked along the open sky and clouds, looking left and right hoping that he won't bump into that nasty youkai…

Or what Shikamaru called, "Poltergeist."

It even had a name: Peeves. Damn creature. Couple days ago, Peeves had dropped some soup mixture on his head, when he least expected it. But it was he, Naruto Uzumaki, who had the last laugh. The look on that thing's face after he unleashed a small taste of Kyuubi's chakra was so worth it though. He hadn't met the ghost, or any other ghost for that matter, since. Well, the other ghosts sometimes greeted him, extra politely, like they didn't want to get on his bad side. They obviously sensed the demon inside of him.

He took a discreet glance around. There were no adults here. The caretakers of this place that cleaned the tables and floors after everyone else was gone were little munchkins, strangely cute with eyes and ears that were too big for their heads. They were hairless and skinny, wearing only the barest essential rags. Hinata had told him that they were called "house elves." He wondered if they could talk.

He shook his head and grinned, walking down the wall. The days had been spent doing reconnaissance work, inside and outside this massive citadel. The open scroll that had a map of the school painted on, which was tacked onto the bedroom wall, was continually updated with each additional exploration of the castle. He headed off to the fourth floor, whistling a jaunty tune. Hogwarts was awesome.

_Chapter Seven: The Ministry of Magic_

Opening the door ever so slightly, Hinata peaked into the room, "Byakugan." She stifled the urge to yawn; it must have been half past five in the morning and she had been sparring with Naruto in that Room of Requirement for half of last night. With her eyes activated, she took in the inventory of the room; there were two rows of hospital beds, neat and tidy, behind a curtain stood another lady bent over a desk full of paper. Turning off her doujutsu, Hinata walked in, to her right there was a cabinet filled with vials of different colored liquids that she had seen at the Slug and Jiggers Apothecary. It piqued her interest: the whole process of potion making reminded her of the way she made medicinal herbal paste at home.

"Hello?" The lady said from behind the curtain, finally sensing the girl. She stepped into view, a rather average looking woman with a sort of white headwear and kind features.

Hinata spun on her heals, "Ano, I'm sorry if I'm d-disrupting you." She apologized, feeling very embarrassed.

The woman continued to scrutinize her, and then her eyes lit up in recognition, "You're one of the ninjas that Dumbledore brought in." She said, with a slight accusing fear in her voice. The Hyuuga heiress was puzzled as to why that was so.

"H-hai." She nervously played with her hands.

The lady's features softened, "Oh sorry dear. I forgot my manners. People call me Madam Pomfrey, I'm Hogwart's medi-witch." She extended a hand.

Aware of the customs of these people due to her visits to her Daimyo as a little child, "Hyuuga Hinata, pleased to m-meet you." She greeted back and quickly added "Hinata's my first name," She looked around at the room. The window allowed rays of sun to warm the floor. Gathering her courage, she asked," Back at my home town, I make medical creams as a hobby and I was just thinking if I could stay and," she took a deep breath, "Watch."

After a split second of thought, the medi-witch smiled, "Of course dear, make yourself at home."

_Chapter Eight: The Hearing_

"You… you…" Minister Fudge turned into a dark shade of puce that would have made Uncle Vernon proud. "You have ninjas guarding Hogwarts?" With each word he sputtered out, his pitch rose higher and higher until he was imitating Aunt Petunia, Harry noted with a smooth face. The tension in the room has risen to an unbearable level but none of it was directed towards him. Many witches and wizards were murmuring to each other at this new turn of events. Well, Harry would have never anticipated this to happen. The hearing had gotten sidetracked after Hogwarts' new guardians were revealed. "Ninjas, Albus! Are you out of your mind?"

Dumbledore leaned forward on his chair, still refusing to even look at Harry, "Now, Minister. Hogwarts is out of the Ministry's control. I have complete assurance that the ninjas will be beneficial to the castle's safety." He nodded to some members in the stands, specifically, those with children in his stately school.

There was a brief silence of disbelief, Fudge's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, making him look like a fish. Harry wasn't sure whether this was in his favor or not, but the topic had moved from his actions to the Heamaster's. The whole Wizengamot's gaze was glued onto the aged wizard. The minister, whose brain had momentarily smoked out, was finding a hard time to string enough words together to make a sentence; he was finding it hard to even move his mouth to make a single word. The woman that resembled a toad cleared her throat. Fudge sighed, taking out a handkerchief and wiping the sweat off of his forehead, "Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister."

The woman spoke for the second time at the hearing. "Isn't Hogwarts the most securely warded, impenetrable fortress in all of Britain, Headmaster?" She asked in her poison-honey tone. "Then why would you need extra protection from a foreign country that hasn't shown its face to the rest of the world besides Magical Japan in over a hundred years?"

Even from his position, Harry could see the Headmaster's eyes twinkling, "Ah, my dear Dolores. Some men just can't reveal their secrets. Not to worry, I will make sure that they will be perfectly harmless to our good children." Umbridge looked like she had just swallowed a lemon. Good children, Harry couldn't help but wonder what will happen to the bad children. He had stayed up all night reading about the history of Britain's interactions with the Ninja Continent, and they had been neutral so far in almost all aspects. Maybe the people of the Ninja Continent were driven to action by Voldemort's rise from death? Hermione sure thought so; the Japanese Ministry was frantically preparing its own people against a threat in Britain, whereas people in Britain believed that his every word was a dirty lie.

Whatever it might be, he had been on the receiving end of many cautions, "Don't piss off those Asians. It might be the last thing you do."

Somehow, he couldn't stop the image of Cho Chang dressed all in black letting out a war cry right before jumping into a fight, "Hyah!" Maybe Professor Snape would get them mad, now what a sight that would be.

Fudge was calling for order in the chamber, banging his gravel twice. Harry caught the man in the middle of the sentence, "-ope you have a good hold on them, Albus. Ninjas! Merlin!"

_Chapter Nine: The Woes of Mrs. Weasley_

The group of teens had opted to take a late lunch that day. Hinata have been giving gushing reviews of that kind woman that she had met at the Hospital Wing that morning. Naruto was relaying his traumatic experiences in the North Tower, "-_smells strong, it's too stuffy anyways. The whole room had this over decorated, round tables and a glass ball in the middle of each one. And then I was about to turn back, I find this lady right behind me in these gaudy scarves and big glasses! The room was ruining havoc on my senses, just like that wand maker, I didn't even notice her!_" He punctuated specific points with hand motions; his only true audience was Hinata.

At the front of the Great Hall was the staff, speaking quietly to each other in low tones. Neji's quietly drained his bowl of soup, stirring the brew with a spoon. Earlier that morning, the old witch, McGonagall, had came to their entrance and asked for their full attendance at lunch, since the Headmaster, having returned from his mysterious trip, was downstairs waiting for them. And there he was, sitting in the middle of the staff table, emanating this unreal power. The man made him uneasy, that was really all to it.

"_And she crept over and told me that '_death was nigh'_._" The hyperactive ninja purposely wavered at the last word, making it sound like he was being shaken as he spoke. "_It was so weird, I ran out of that place so fast…_"

When around half an hour passed, after everybody was just about done with their meals, the Headmaster of the school stood, silencing all noises around him, "Children from the Ninja Continent, please step forward." Nobody dared to disobey. There must be a sort of spell that made his sentence reverberate and bounce off the stone walls. Something at the side from the back of his head whispered that he should obey someone like Dumbledore with respect, but he pushed it aside.

The four soldiers of Konohakagure stood directly in front of the table, under intense scrutiny. It was if they were like livestock, being examined thoroughly before putting them up for auction; it was extremely degrading. Neji's Byakugan was on, but he tilted his head toward the ground to avoid suspicion. All three of them were perfectly stoic, except for Naruto who sort of slouched in a comfortable position with his hands in his pockets and an easy-going grin on his face. Neji stopped the chakra flow to his eyes, so much for first impressions.

"Albus," a dark haired man with an unpleasant expression and a hooked nose started, "I understand that the reputation of the inhabitants of the Ninja's Continent precedes them, but these are children."

"Severus," the other soothed, "I have high hopes for these shinobis in front of us now. I believe that they are very talented."

"But that doesn't change the point," a short, stout woman with frizzed hair remarked, "that they are just kids." She turned to face the group of four and hazarded a guess, "You all look young. Are you thirteen? Fourteen?" Her eyes drifted toward, what Neji thought, what she thought was the youngest of their group: Naruto.

"I'm turn fifteen in October!" He saluted her. None of the adults looked reassured. The dark man, Severus, muttered something about little brats who couldn't even speak English properly.

But Naruto's actions did relieve some tension in the atmosphere. Shikamaru relaxed his stance; the two Hyuugas followed his lead. "Dumbledore-sama, you have summoned us so we can discuss some details regarding this mission."

The wizard's eyes twinkled, "How could I have forgotten?" He said brightly, "I don't know what your leader has told you, but I'll try to explain the best I can. How you will do all these things are not up to me. I want you four to patrol the entire school grounds at all times, day and night. You will be handing in a report to me every week and if something comes to your attention, please tell me immediately. You will be guarding the school and its students from possible intruders. Try your best to subdue them, don't kill." Naruto blinked back, puzzled. "And specially keep an eye out for one Harry Potter."

Ah, that boy that's mentioned in a bad light in the newspaper. Neji nodded, "Notable physical characteristics?"

"That underweight boy has uncombed black hair, green eyes, glasses, and a lightning bolt shaped scar on the center of his forehead." The ninjas exchanged glances. Well they had dealt with vaguer descriptions. "He's of great importance to us at this moment, I hope you understand."

Shikamaru stepped forward and bowed low, "We will do our best, Dumbledore-sama." He stepped back and flicked his wrist; the group of four left the Great Hall.

The aged wizard cheerfully called behind them, "Good luck next week, the kids start coming in late afternoon."

The group of teens closed the door. For a few minutes, they were all silent, standing still, facing down a silvery corridor; on the other side of the door were the teachers. And then, it seemed like an invisible force used a scissor to cut the thick tension in half. Shikamaru visibly, truly, sagged in relief. Hinata's straight face relaxed into an expression that Neji believed was more suitable for a personality like hers. Naruto grinned to his comrades, "_That was interesting. It was like, power play_."

"_No shit_," The Nara heir rubbed his forehead, "_I haven't felt this tense since my first mission as a chunin_."

"_You did well, Shikamaru-kun._" Hinata reassured him, "_I-I don't think I could place myself in your shoes._"

Naruto shushed them. His head was cocked toward the door, "_Someone new is in the room, and…Dolores is an English feminine name right? She just walked in through the entrance._"

"_I heard that the Headmaster needed a new Defense against Dark Arts teacher, would that be her?_"

"_Yeah sure_," The blond's eyes narrowed as he concentrated, "_She has this overly sweet and fake voice._" A beat, "_I don't think I like her._"

OoO

"What are you doing, Hagrid-san?" Naruto looked up at the towering hulk of human. He had decided to pay the big man another visit. Usually, the burly man would be feeding his assorted pets, which all, despite their physical differences, big, fat, small, skinny, deadly, poisonous, seemed to love him and cooed in his presence. It created an overall comical effect. But today, Hagrid was placed the ropes around a creature that he had never seen before. The creatures looked like emaciated horses that were distant cousins of reptiles with wings. They were pitch-black and their eyes glowed with a certain amount of intelligence.

"Eh? Hi Naruto." Hagrid walked by, leading the creature over to the front of the carriage, "Ye can see em?" Naruto nodded, "Hmm, I guess that ye would. They're threstrals, beauts ain't they?" He beamed proudly at the one at his side and gave the demon horse a playful pat on the side. "Only people who had seen death could see 'em. They eat only raw meat, give 'em a slab of steak and they love ye te pieces."

The thestral nudged Naruto's neck and whinnied, the boy saw a row of sharp teeth. "Are they harmless?" He nervously asked.

"Mostly, as long as ye dun insult 'em they won hurt ye. They'd be pullin' the carriages that'll hold the children tomorrow." The big man patted his horse affectionately on the head. "Dun worry, they're like kittens."

The demon-horse's breath smelled like rotten flesh, "…right."

_Chapter Ten: Luna Lovegood_

The team of four had spent all morning running through last minute plans. Shikamaru had read a book on level five spell work last night and found by accident a spell that could translate Japanese to English. That meant that the group of nins couldn't communicate secretly between them if anything important was to come up. In the midst of panic and arm flapping, the latter courteously contributed by Naruto, the Nara scion had to give the other three ninjas a crash course in detailed hand sign language.

Shikamaru thanked Kami that although their other electronic equipment didn't work, at least their communicators did. "_Fox to Shadow, I'm in position, as are Fox Two through Fox One-Hundred._"

Hinata's voice cracked through, "_Sun to Shadow, I'm on the West Wall._"

Neji's voice appeared a moment later, "_Spiral to Shadow, I'm ready_."

Shikamaru blended as one with the shadows. "_Copy all that. Get ready, the older students are coming in._"

The doors opened with a bang.


	2. Unknown is what It Is

Author's Note: So… the sixth Harry Potter movie is coming out. I'm not too excited since the fifth had sucked so badly that it made me want to puke. They could have edited out the Cho/Harry kiss, it doesn't even move the storyline further and it took _thirty minutes_, and instead, added more to the scene of Snape's pensieve. Damn it, I wanted to see if the Marauders would be sporting the Seventies hairdo, it was too short! The only cool part was where people started apparating into the room with the veil. And yeah…

This story will be shortened a lot. The parts in the book not mentioned in the story are still happening and I'll only make brief references to them. A lot of the original book is rewritten in this story. Don't sue me, I don't have any money.

A small note in the story: a Tsukumogami is a common Japanese household object that suddenly becomes alive on its hundredth birthday- old lore.

I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto or the quote.

"Speech"- English.

"_Speech_"- Japanese.

'Thoughts'- English

'_Hand signals or thoughts_'- Japanese

Here we go

_Presenting…_

**Chakra and Magic**

**Two: Unknown is what It Is**

_((And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that-it's all illusion.))_

_Chapter Eleven: The Sorting Hat's New Song_

Harry Potter felt a heavy weight drop down his stomach: this year seems to be shaping into a series of unfortunate events. Professor Grubbly-Plank was sitting in the spot where Hagrid should be at the teacher's table, the sorting hat delivered a new tune with lyrics that gave a sense of foreboding, and that woman from the ministry, Umbridge, was here, currently giving a speech on the Ministry of Magic, one that was quite boring. To his observation, the only student who seemed to be diligently listening was Hermione, but judging by the look on her face, the speech didn't seem to be pleasant at all. Propping his head on his hand, his attentiveness long gone, he waited for the end of the speech. He gave a small yawn.

"…perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited." Umbridge sat down. There was a small, pitiful round of applause that was loudest at the staff's table with Dumbledore leading; some students tried to follow, joining their hands only once or twice before stopping.

Hermione leaned over, "Watch your back Harry," she whispered in a low voice, "the speech was aimed for anyone who is deemed a threat."

"I'm not a threat to anyone," he hissed back, slightly puzzled.

Dumbledore had stood once again, "Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," he gave a curt bow to her; she gave a saccharine smile back. "Now— as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held…"

"Read between the lines, she didn't imply the magical community, she mentioned the Ministry. You are a threat to Fudge's political career." Hermione said grimly, "He's taking action; the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts."

"No way," Ron blurted out, "Dumbledore can't possible let-."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and tapped his wand against the table, shooting off some white sparks. The whole school's eyes snapped back up to him, including the three Gryffindors', when the headmaster spoke, his voice was grave and his eyes serious, "As I'm sure you all know from reading the recent headlines, the Minister and I have come to a set of differences regarding the safety of our students. I'm sure everyone knows here my stance of whether He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Due to my worries I have taken the liberty to hire some protection for this beloved school."

Ron nudged Harry in the ribs. Both were on the edge of their seat, as are most of the other students. If the Headmaster can still do things that are not under the Minister's approval, then he had not relinquished all of his power to the government, yet. The woman in the pink cardigan's expression turned slightly sour.

"With clearance with the Japanese Ministry, I have managed to hire some help from the Ninja Continent." Whispers among the students filled the aged man's pause as he allowed the information to sink in. The pure and half bloods looked apprehensive, the muggleborns were confused. "There will be four ninja bodyguards patrolling the halls and classrooms. They will be doing their job as they see fit, will report to me any suspicions they have witnessed, and will protect the school should any attack or harm come to it." He cleared his throat, "I ask of you not to antagonize them as if you act hostile to them, I can't be responsible for their actions. I ask that you practice caution." A breath, "On a brighter note, I encourage you to talk to them, as this is the first time in more than a hundred years that they have stepped foot outside of their lands. I would like us to form a healthy relationship between us and the Ninja Continent."

Hermione nudged Harry in the ribs, "That means that they are here somewhere."

Harry, Ron, and a couple of Gryffindors who were eavesdropping, looked curiously around. Ninjas are in the Great Hall? How long have they been there? Dumbledore continued, "One of the four will be the main patrol during the day, should you see him, do not be alarmed. Should you have any concerns, please defer your questions and requests either to him or to my staff, as you will not be seeing his companions out in the open." He smiled, eyes twinkling, and raised his arms, "Please meet the children of Hogwarts, Naruto Uzumaki."

One moment, nothing… the next moment, someone appeared standing between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor table. There were shrieks of surprise and scrambled movement to move back. Even the teachers looked alarmed, the only one who managed to partially hide his surprise was Snape, and even his eyebrows rose slightly. It took a while, but after the initial surprise, everyone openly gaped at the newcomer. Even the Slytherins were craning their necks to catch a glance.

Harry was surprised to see that the boy, ninja, was probably his age, youthful. The boy wore a nondescript, long cloak that still caught some air at the ends. Did the ninja jumped from the ceiling? Harry glanced skeptically at the enchanted ceiling. But the boy appeared so suddenly. "Apparating?" Dean muttered excitedly, "but the wards." Underneath the cloak, Harry managed to glimpse dark cargo pants and some sort of sandals. The ninja, who had a sort of Oriental air around him, had bright, spiky blond hair and tanned skin, blue eyes and was sporting a grin, enjoying the sudden attention bestowed upon him.

Naruto Uzumaki gave a low bow, "Konichiwa, Dumbledore-sama."

"Out of the four guards, you will be seeing him the most around the school. You may leave." The Headmaster dismissed the blond with a hand wave. Naruto cocked his head to the right, as if not fully understanding, but then nodded, muttered some words in a foreign tongue, and to everyone's amazement, disappeared in a swirl of wind and leaves.

The excited student's chatter grew as they discussed the new additions to the school. "Didn't look like much," Ron muttered thoughtfully, "pretty short too."

"Don't judge a book by its cover." Hermione replied swiftly, earning a puzzled look from the redhead. She sighed, "Muggle saying. Still, I wonder what he just did… he obviously is gone, but he couldn't have apparated…"

The staff began to stand, the Great Feast has ended. There was great clattering and banging all around because everyone was standing up ready to leave the hall. "Ron, we're supposed to show the first years where to go!" Hermione exclaimed, flustered.

"Oh yeah. Hey— hey you lot! Midgets!"

Harry rolled his eyes at his friend's antics as he watched the new students shuffle by him to reach the prefects. Still, he was thankful that the news about the ninjas had diverted attention from him, though it won't last long now. With the boy gone, the stares to the back of his head intensified.

_Chapter Twelve: Professor Umbridge_

Shikamaru stayed in the shadows the next day as children spilled into the Great Hall for breakfast. Crouching low in his position, he observed the Great Hall's green side where the group of students called the Slytherins sat. Some sleep crept back into his eyes and he tried to stifle a yawn, having been up before the sun rose to switch with the nightshift. From his little knowledge of Britain's magical community, Hogwarts was the only magical school available to England, and where so many stick wavers trace their development and influence back to their respected 'houses'. Recently, the green house has been spitting out 'Eaters of Death.' He would have researched more but his report to the Godaime was due.

All at once, a flurry of owls flew through the window with letters and packages attached to their feet, heading to their respected owners. A platinum haired boy received what looked to be the Daily Prophet, the wizards' newspaper. The headlines were in bold, reading:

HAS DUMBLEDORE SUCCUMED TO SENILITY?

NINJAS AT HOGWARTS

Rubbing eyebrows, he muttered, "_Troublesome_." The conversation at the table grew slightly more interesting. The blond boy had begun to boast about his knowledge of the shinobis, it offered an interesting perspective from the magical people's view on the people from the Ninja Continent.

"They are rumored to be powerful, their magical core is so big that it extends out in some vessels and they don't need wands at all." The blond said pompously.

A girl with short, dark brown hair and a face that almost resembled Pakkun that was sitting across from the boy hanged onto his every word, "Ohhh, Draco." Shikamaru looked up, Draco? The name was mentioned once in the newspapers, one Lucius Malfoy talked about… The boy's a Malfoy, the family name has seen both infamy and exaltation. How… interesting. "What else do you know?"

Malfoy preened, "Their bloodline is pure, some more pure than the old families, up to the point that the family can specialize in different amazing abilities called bloodlines. My grandfather from my mother's side had once stumbled onto their land by a portkey accident and he bore witness to their powers. He couldn't see much because he was soon found out, but managed to see a family of ninjas with pupil-less eyes." The Hyuugas. His audience, which had now grown, oohed and awed. "Father told me to try and find out as much about them as possible, and perhaps strike up a small friendship. The ninjas hire themselves out for money. If they suddenly decided to stop their self-imposed isolation, there would be many new opportunities; it's up to us Slytherins to take advantage of the situation."

The topic shifted again onto more boring subjects such as teachers, schoolwork and O.W.L.s. The Nara shifted slightly in his place, '_This could be really beneficial or downright bad if someone knows so much information about us. Malfoy would no doubt make the connection if he sees either Neji or Hinata, heck, the whole green house would too. And Hinata works part-time with the Healer at the hospital ward, people are bound to see her._' Arms crossed, '_Tsunade-sama did not want us to broadcast our powers and information._'

Which begged the question- how did Dumbledore coerce the Godaime into accepting an unpaid mission? It all sounded too suspicious, the Kages and Daimyos of the five major powers didn't want to open up the Ninja Continent to the rest of the world, since the results would be too chaotic and too politically driven. Nations might be pitted against each other if the magical world ever descended into war. That was why the Daimyos were only allied to Mainland Japan. It's unlikely that anyone else in the world, old family or not, would be able to hire out reluctant ninjas… unless they did whatever the Headmaster did to the Fire Daimyo and Tsunade-sama.

Foul play? He should discuss this with the rest of the team.

Slowly, empty plates and bowls disappeared, groups of people began to stand and walk out in different directions. "_Fox Three to Shadow_," a voice softly cracked through his earpiece, "_The lion house and the snake house have the same classes next in the dungeons. Is it ok if you tail them? Fox is curious about the animals that Grubbly-Plank-san is keeping._"

Shikamaru sighed, "_Sure, sure. I'll get to it._" He lazily stretched, cracking a few joints and shoved his hands into his pockets and slid through the shadows.

OoO

A blonde girl suddenly turned and faced him, causing him to stumble back in surprise. She craned her neck up to wave to him from his space on the walls. Seeing that there were no other people, he decided to satisfy his curiosity and jumped down, his cloak trailing behind; the cloak signified that he was the original and not the bunshins that he had maintained throughout the building. The girl had her stick tucked behind an ear and her eyes carried a dazed off expression, "_Hello Naruto-kun_," she greeted.

His suspicion reluctantly turned into delight, "_You can speak Japanese?_" She nodded; he nodded back, there was nothing to fill the silence. Feeling that he was in a surreal world, he grasped for a topic to talk about, "_Cool. Congratulations on being the first one to spot me after yesterday._"

She tossed her hair back and smiled serenely, "_Oh don't tell that to me. A Tsukumogami in the shape of an umbrella told me where you are._" He blinked and she continued, "_My name is Luna Lovegood._" She extended her hand out to shake.

He hesitantly accepted it; after a few moments of internal debating, he smiled brilliantly back, "_Hello Luna-chan! Would you like to be friends?_"

OoO

After lunch, it was Naruto's turn to watch the so called 'Golden Boy,' as Shikamaru went off to Arithmancy. The Potter kid and his red-haired friend went up to the North Tower and into that smelly room where the weird lady, now known as Professor Trelawney, resided. In his opinion, the subject of the class, fortune-telling, was total bull. The woman seemed to not to know what she was doing and most of her students were equally confused. Today's lesson covered dreams and how they foretold the future, but as far as Naruto could tell, most of the kids were making up their visions.

'_What a waste of time…_' He thought glumly as he observed the class. The only thing that might be worth noting, was the fact that the Potter kid was extremely reluctant to offer his own dreams, which made Naruto suspect they meant something. They were probably nightmares, if Potter was so embarrassed by them. So with nothing better to do, he popped a few bunshins and noted their memories, unable to restrain sighing at more useless information. After creating a bunshin to watch over Potter, he slipped out of the room and into fresh, un-perfumed, air.

While taking a leisurely stroll through the castle, he took out his newest seal invention. On four chakra papers, there was a highly elaborate mind seal. The concept was simple, between the four who wore the papers, anything one knew, the other three would also instantly know. That way, information could be exchanged in a matter of a split second. He found an empty room and got back to trying to polish off the technique, working at the glitches. Shikamaru wouldn't be happy to know that he was skimping on his duties, but really it was perfectly reasonable. No one would dare hurt Harry Potter in the midst of a classroom of children and a Hogwarts' professor, not with the 'Dark Lord' determined to remain in the shadows for the time being.

He had agreed to meet up with Luna later, the exact time and date not yet determined. Naruto would have to consult his friends, but if they agreed, he thought Luna could help with the reconnaissance around the castle and students, catching any bits of information that the shinobis might have missed.

'_The intense information gathering is getting a bit annoying though_,' he thought as he wrinkled his nose and tucked the finalized versions of the seals back into his pocket and walked out into the halls. '_Dumbledore shouldn't be holding the necessary data from us._'

He walked down the corridors, intending to have a small talk with the Headmaster before stopping in mid-step, '_Dumbledore is gone around this time of the day. And his office is blocked by that stone creature._' It was a setback. '_Bummer, the old man had to make things complicated.'_ The more and more he thought about it, the Headmaster was trying to prevent any sort of contact he had with the ninjas. There was no reason behind his avoidance.

'_Wait_.' An idea came to him, like a light bulb atop of his head, '_Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall should be around._' which was good because frankly, he was more comfortable around that witch than the old wizard. Pivoting on his heels, he turned to the stairs and walked down. Alone in the hallways, he trudged on, looking for any signs of movement, down another set of stairs and into the corridors, twisting and turning. Without a watch, he wondered how much time had passed.

Rapping on the office door, he was surprised when it opened with more force than normal. His bunshins hadn't related any new information back to him, so he was slightly stunned to see Potter on the other side of the door. He stared into a set of equally surprised green eyes, but it took only a moment for him to regain his bearings. Cocking his head to the right, he looked over Potter's shoulder to see the familiar, stern woman; he brightened up, "McGonagall-san!" and gave a short bow.

She nodded her head, having made her way to her own desk, "Pleasant surprise to see you here, Mr. Uzumaki."

"I has question." He informed and shot a meaningful look at the other boy.

The witch shooed Potter, who looked like he was about to protest, out of the doorway and ushered him in, making sure to close and lock the door with a muttered incantation. When she turned around, he began his request, stumbling over his words and waving his hands around, "It be more help if you gave us more data. Reconnaissance takes long time and it be easy if you gave us a profile on everyone in your castle."

Through the broken English, she still understood and looked slightly surprised, "Albus hasn't given you any records? Strange. Well don't worry, I'll send over a package by this evening."

He nodded, relieved, that was easier than he thought, half expecting a denial of his request with some weird reason or the other. "Arigato," he thanked her with another bow. Naruto was about to leave when something nagged at his thoughts. One of his bunshin had popped, relating the Umbridge incident and Potter's outbursts to him. "Ano…" The professor looked up, "Did Potter-san get his detentions removed?"

McGonagall sighed, "No. I don't have any power over that dratted woman, she's under the Minister, not the Headmaster. I wished he would reign in his temper though, these are very unstable times, no matter how anyone looks at it. Harry will be having detention every evening this week, starting tomorrow."

"Ah." They both mused on their own individual thoughts. Naruto would have extra hours to watch over Potter now. Joy. The woman interrupted his train of thinking.

"Biscuit?"

_Chapter Thirteen: Detention with Dolores_

Harry tucked his extendable ear away, courtesy of the twins, and walked quickly to dinner. Thank goodness McGonagall hadn't thought to ward her door against physical… commodities. Between his Head of House's words and the ninja's bad English, he had deduced new developments. Dumbledore wasn't really helping the ninjas with their job. 'Why though? There's no reason not to, he's their employer.'

But the big new revelation was that Dumbledore had these ninjas, or at least one of them, following his every tail.

"Well its reasonable isn't it?" Hermione loftily said at the table, applying gravy onto her chicken, "you are the Boy-Who-Lived and You-Know-Who is back so you are obviously going to be watched more closely than the rest of the school."

("He says he saw Cedric Diggory murdered…")

("He reckons he dueled with You-Know-Who…")

"It's not right though." Harry hissed back, attacking his own dinner with newfound vigor, "Dumbledore has no right to impose security on me. I can take care of myself. I have been for the last fifteen years."

"You-Know-Who is back, Harry." The girl whispered, "This is certainly different from the past years."

("Come off it…")

("Who does he think he's kidding?")

"But my bodyguards, as we eloquently put it, should at least make their presence known to me if they are so integrated into my daily life." He changed topics and tried his best, between clenched teeth and shaking hands, to ignore the whispers around him.

"I-." Hermione stopped and glared around, "Oh, let's get out of here." She slammed down her own knife and fork: Ron looked sadly at his half-finished apple pie but followed suit. People stared at them all the way out of the Hall. "The thing is, I'm not sure about Japanese customs. It might be perfectly normal for them to never talk to the actual persons they guard, I'm sure they report to the teachers, particularly Dumbledore." She continued talking as they reached the first-floor landing.

"And Dumbledore's avoiding me." He grumbled.

"He probably has a reason, mate. Order business, or something," Ron finally piped up.

"You're not helping," Harry bit back. "I've stayed at the Dursleys with no information about the outside world only to, in the last week of vacation, be attacked by Dementors. Then I come back to realize that everybody either hates or is scared of me! Nobody believes me- they all think I'm a lunatic!"

"I know, Harry," Hermione consoled him, "but I promise it'll get better. You-Know-Who will have to make a move soon, but until then, we can only wait."

Rain pounded on the windowpanes as they strode along the empty corridors back to Gryffindor Tower. Harry felt as though his first day had lasted a week, and he still had a mountain of homework to do before bed. A dull, pounding pain was developing over his right eye. He glanced out of a rain-washed window at the dark grounds as they turned into the Fat Lady's corridor. There was still no light in Hagrid's cabin.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia," Hermione enunciated before the Fat Lady could ask. The portrait swung open to reveal the hole behind and the three of them scrambled through it.

The common room was almost empty; nearly everyone else was still down at dinner. Harry rushed up to his dorm muttering under his breath. Crookshanks uncoiled himself from the armchair and trotted to meet them, purring loudly. He leapt lightly into Hermione's lap, and curled up there like a furry ginger cushion as Harry came back downstairs with his schoolwork and the trio took their favorite chairs at the fireside. Harry looked down at the Marauder's Map that he held in his hands, unfolded it and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Ron, interested, leaned over the parchment, which showed the blueprint of the school and the many people that inhabited it. Noticing something out of the ordinary, Ron pointed to two dots.

"Hey, why do they have the same names? Hyu-uga?" Harry squinted down at the tiny scrawl and shrugged.

Hermione stood and walked over, cat now on the floor, and leaned over on Harry's other side, "The Japanese usually address people by last names first. They might come from the same family. Oh Harry, they might be the other two ninjas!" She clapped her hands excitedly.

"Hina-ta and Ne-ji." Ron grunted, he pointed to two other dots. "Here are the others. Nara, Shika-maru and Naruto Uzumaki."

Harry indicated at the dot labeled 'Hyuuga Neji' and said, "I think this is where the ninja's quarters are. Huh. Don't suppose that we can knock can we," he joked feebly and cleared his throat. "Well, Hinata is in the Hospital Wing. I reckon that we can visit," he paused in order to guess the gender,"…her, get some answers then. They're hiding information from us." Both of his companions agreed.

They collected their schoolbags from a corner and returned to the chairs by the fire. People were coming back from dinner now. Harry kept his face averted from the portrait hole, but could still sense the stares he was attracting. But he felt better, having a goal to aim for- to uncover the mysteries surrounding these enigmatic ninjas.

OoO

It's possible for the pain to subside if one concentrated on other matters besides the punishment, Harry realized as the quill fell to the parchment again, spilling more blood. I must not tell lies, he wrote, I must not tell lies. He concentrated on what had happened earlier in the day. There was no chance to visit the Hospital Wing, now that homework was piling even higher. The Potions essay about the properties of moonstones lay unfinished in his bag. Fred and George, he was happy to see, were continuing to develop new candies to sell in their joke shop, though Hermione was not too pleased and after a minor row, had retreated and started to knit hats, of all things.

His hatred of Umbridge grew even greater than his hatred for Draco, Snape, and the rest of the Slytherins combined. He hated her, he hated her, he hated her…

Charms and Transfiguration class had been strenuous. Both teachers gave prep talks about O.W.L.s and the importance of fifth year, topping it off with another couple of essays. I must not tell lies. Care of Magical Creatures was a disaster. The Slytherins kept trying to goad him into a fight by insulting Hagrid and his own integrity. I must not tell lies. A few students, namely Ernie Macmillan and Luna Lovegood, had come up to say that they believed him. It hadn't improved his mood. Angelina got mad at him because of his detentions overlapping with the Keeper try-outs, and, not to his surprise, Umbridge wouldn't allow him to go.

He wondered if any ninjas were observing him now.

I must not tell lies. He tried to blank out the pain by thinking of nothing at all. Only the sound of the quill scratching on the parchment he acknowledged. I must not tell lies. Darkness fell outside Umbridge's window. Harry did not ask when he would be allowed to stop. He did not even check his watch, knowing that she was watching him for signs of weakness, and he was not going to show any, not even if he had to sit here all night, cutting open his own hand with this quill… I must not tell lies.

"Come here," she said sweetly, after what seemed hours.

OoO

The second detention was just as bad as the previous one. Harry had resolved to keep his punishment secret from everybody, even his friends. He only told them that he had lines, which wasn't too far from the truth. But this was a battle of wills, between him and that horrible toad-lady, and if he told anyone, he would lose. The skin on the back of his hand became irritated more quickly than before; it was an angry red and very inflamed. The skin was taking longer and longer to heal, and soon the words etched on his hand stayed that way, spilling blood continuously. Yet, he let no moan of pain escape him, and from the moment of entering the room to the moment of his dismissal, past midnight, he said nothing but "Good evening" and "Good night."

The third detention passed by as a routine, except this time, the words, 'I must not tell lies' did not fade from the back of his hand and instead, exactly he predicted, remained scratched there, oozing blood.

Professor Umbridge had allowed him to leave early that day, saying, "That ought to serve as a reminder to you, oughtn't it?" But she told him that he still must come back tomorrow to etch the message deeper.

He closed the door to her room behind him, dreading his remaining homework, feeling nothing but exhaustion and hate. He stood there, facing the door, directing his thoughts through, hoping to curse her through the door. 'She's evil. She's an evil, twisted, mad, old-'

A soft sound of wind behind him interrupted his thoughts. He spun around on his foot with his wand out. He blinked at the sight in front of him. The ninja, Naruto, was staring at his wand warily, cross-eyed. Slowly, the ninja pushed the wand-point to the side with a hand, Harry saw the dark orange sleeve peeking out underneath the cloak. Silence, blue eyes met green, Naruto grinned toothily, "Konichiwa Potter-san. My name is Naruto Uzumaki." Hand stuck out, waiting for a shake.

Unsure of himself, Harry took the hand, only to give a surprised grunt when the other pulled his hand in and observed, with squinted eyes, the skin on the back. "What the bloody hell are you doing? Let go." He whispered, trying to pull back, aware that they were still only on the other side of the door.

The blond frowned and retained an inhuman grip on his hand, "She's like Ibiki-san, but worse." The ninja tugged Harry forward, causing him to stumble, "I take you to heal- hospital place." He tried to explain.

There were many protests coming from Harry's lips that were all brushed aside. The tanned blond kept making references to torture, like he was an expert at it, but more often than not, muttered a long string of Japanese words under his breath. The ninja, despite his short stature, was quite strong. Harry could not escape his grip. And he was sure that if he did somehow manage to free himself, he would not get far. He didn't dare to use his wand. The duo climbed up the stairs to Madam Pomfrey's.

The ninja kicked open the door and peeked inside, "Oi! Hinata-chan!" A long, black haired girl that was sitting at a desk with her back turned to them spun around. Harry gasped sharply; she had no, pupils, her eyes completely an eerie pale color. But she didn't act blind as she rushed over to their exact spot.

"Naruto-kun," she greeted and started speaking rapidly in Japanese, sparing a short glance at Harry, who felt like he was slightly intruding on something. Naruto responded with equally fast Japanese, making his points by waving and gesturing with his arms, finally showing the message scrawled onto Harry's hand, the tone of voice growing slightly bitter. The girl clasped her hands over her mouth in shock but quickly lowered them to lead Harry to the nearest bed and had him sit down. Then she scurried to the cabinets and pulled out a small cloth and a clear bottle of liquid.

Harry let out a sigh that he was unintentionally holding back. The room was barely lit, the people in the room were mere silhouettes, but the ninjas seemed to navigate through without any problems. He stared at the two others in curiosity, having just noticed how smooth and graceful their movements were, like flowing water. Having placed the materials on a side table, Hinata sat in front of Harry and offered an apologetic smile, "Sorry. Naruto-kun is sometimes too boisterous. I hope that he didn't alarm you too much, he's really nice and caring on the inside."

Surprised by her perfect English, he stammered back, "Oh no, it's nothing, thank you for treating me."

She giggled softly and soaked the cloth in the clear liquid, which turned out to be alcohol. "It's nothing." She slowly wiped away the blood and cleaned the wound, eliciting some hisses of pain. Naruto was walking around the room, cloak billowing behind, opening and closing cabinet doors, sometimes taking out some vials and bottles and twirling them around, acting more like a immature child than a hired killer. Harry looked back to at the girl, who had her hand over his, he squirmed a bit, uncomfortable at the sudden intimacy but stopped when a soft green light appeared from her hand. He openly stared at the light as it seeped into his cuts, slowly closing them, the raw skin faded away. When Hinata let his hand go, the wound stopped hurting.

"I'm sorry, but the cut will reopen just as quickly when you are in your next detention," Hinata stated. "But you can come back, you know?"

"Yeah." He nodded dumbly, "What was that?"

"Magic," Hinata said, at the same time Naruto said, "Chakra." The two ninjas stared at each other, eyes conveying a secret message before Naruto relented, "Magic. Ninja stuff." Waving his hands, he ordered, "We go back now."

Naruto followed Harry back to the Gryffindor tower. All the while, the blond had been rubbing his eyes and yawning wildly. Harry's head spun, 'Chakra? Is it some sort of power that we don't have? What's chakra? Hermione should know, but then she would just ask me what I was doing in the Hospital Wing… but maybe I can get something out of this right now.'

He rounded onto his companion. "Why don't you show yourself to the public? Why do you hide from us?" he demanded hotly with arms crossed.

Taken aback by the sudden questions, Naruto rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly answered, "Ano, what ninjas do. Right? We stay unseen."

Not taking that as a proper answer, he redoubled his efforts, "Yeah but it's my business if you are guarding me. Shouldn't at least I be able to contact you?"

The logic didn't really make sense and both boys knew that, but Harry was betting Naruto didn't want too much trouble between them. After all, protector-protected relationships have to be based on mutual trust. The only hint of emotions that Naruto showed was his right eye twitching and his mouth muttering another long string of Japanese words. Harry only caught the word, "Kag-e-bun…" Finally, the blond let out a sigh of defeat, "Fine," he pouted, "I show self." Arms raised in exasperation, "Happy?"

Inwardly surprised at the lack of fight, Harry grinned like a satisfied cat, "Very."

OoO

The next detention night, after Naruto again took him to Hinata, he came into the Gryffindor common room intending to tell Hermione about his scar hurting when Umbridge touched his arm, only to be greeted with a roar of sound. Ron came running toward him, beaming and slopping butterbeer down his front from the goblet he was clutching.

"Harry, I did it, I'm in, I'm Keeper!"

The celebrations continued with food and drinks. He didn't tell his friends about the ninjas, and he couldn't bring himself to tell them what really happened during Umbridge's detentions. He justified his actions by reminding himself that it was Friday, his detentions were over, and there was no use to cry over spilt milk.

_Chapter Fourteen: Percy and Padfoot_

His teammates' harsh criticism still rang in his ears, and he was also mentally kicking himself for his stupidity. '_Why did you agree with him, Naruto? He's a civilian, you could have just said no._' He couldn't take back his word and was now stuck spending the day in the open, vulnerable to stares of curiosity and whispers as he openly trailed the Boy-Who-Lived. '_Well, at least I still have my bunshins patrolling in secrecy_,' he shuddered to think what would happen if Potter… Harry ever found out.

Friday was bad. He narrowly dodged bold students trying to corner him and pester him with questions, and there were some very tight situations. The people in green, the Slytherins, were especially talented at creating strategies to get him alone, but he managed to escape them. The staff were all amused at this new development, although he had only articulated to McGonagall the whole story, Naruto was sure that she spread the news to her coworkers.

Shikamaru was forced to change his plans: from time to time Bunshin Two and Naruto would switch places guarding the Potter boy to still maintain some secrecy while putting on a front. Shikamaru actually liked this idea for three reasons. First, the curiosity of the students at Hogwarts might simmer down slightly, or at least there would be no undue tension (it was actually Hinata's job at the Infirmary to know the students personally but having Naruto also socializing didn't hurt). Second, with Naruto's friendly personality, people might deem him as a lesser threat, or even approachable, and he would be able to mingle with the other kids. And finally, Shikamaru liked the idea because it wasn't him that was stuck in the crowd overbearing people. Lazy ass.

"_Shadow to Fox_," the earpiece said, "_just a warning that on weekends, the students have free time and won't be going to classes. Be on your guard._" The smugness was evident in the voice was evident.

He gritted his teeth, "_Fox to Shadow. Shut up._" Naruto trudged on, yawning and stretching some sore muscles. The team trained at the Room of Requirement daily, during any spare time they had, not wanting to get lax in the middle of their mission. Harry was somewhere up in the air on a broom, judging by what his henged bunshin was seeing from the stands. Well, that meant that his bunshin popped… Damn, he had to go to the Quidditch pitch. Because of the seals he created that allowed it's wearers to exchange knowledge, after what Shikamaru had witnessed in the dungeons, he was only slightly surprised at the level of… insults the Slytherins, led by a boy, surname Malfoy, were throwing. The rest of the team, except for that redhead, allowed the insults to slide off their backs.

Because of Harry's detentions, Naruto had needed to take up a shift and a half, which totally sucked. '_So… tired…_' He walked out into the Quidditch pitch and sat on the other side of the stands, away from the people wearing green, to watch the Gryffindors practice.

OoO

It was dark while Neji crept silently forward until he stood in front of the gargoyle. "Blood pops." The stone creature sprang aside and the Hyuuga opened the door silently. The empty room was circular, the walls were covered in bookcases and portraits, all of them, thankfully, were asleep in the dead of the night. The boy walked up to the Headmaster's desk, and scanned the insides, his Byakugan activated. He reached out to pull open a drawer, and pulled out a pile of papers and leafed through them as quickly as he could, unsure of the amount of time he would have in the office alone. His eyebrows raised high toward his hairline.

Was Shikamaru right? It seemed like Dumbledore had something to threaten the esteemed leaders of Hi no Ki and Konohakagure with. The papers showed research done on a captured ninja's body, studying the chakra coils, or what the 'DoM' said, the enlarged vessels holding magic. What is the DoM? One of the portraits snorted behind him, before snuffling and continuing to sleep peacefully. He continued to browse through the papers, eyes narrowing as he memorized the contents; he suspected foul play. There were more studies of a long term spell that influenced the mind. It reminded him of Orochimaru's curse seal, something that could compel the victim into doing actions that he or she would not do under normal circumstances.

There was a short burst of flame and a small chirp behind him. Without turning around, he saw a regal, scarlet bird perched on a golden stand, staring at him with an indecipherable expression. '_Human intelligence within a creature: unlikely but not impossible._' Not wanting to take the chance that the appearance of the bird might be followed by an appearance of the aged wizard, Neji hastily shoved the papers back into their positions and slid the drawer closed. He noiselessly made his way around the desk, opened the door and exited.

As far as he knew, he hadn't been watched… hopefully. Could the bird report to Dumbledore? Kami, he didn't want to know.

_Chapter Fifteen: The Hogwarts High Inquisitor_

MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM

DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST-EVER "HIGH INQUISITOR"

Those had to be the worst headlines that Harry had ever read during breakfast. Already emotionally exhausted from Percy's letter and his talk with Sirius concerning the old toad, he dreaded to think what the Prophet was hinting at behind gushing reviews of Umbridge's work at Hogwarts from those who weren't even at the school. She now had power to give staff members a 'fair and objective evaluation,' and it gave Harry the chills. And yet, despite the inspections (Harry only witnessed Trelawney's and there's a high chance that the fraud would finally be sacked, he felt a bit sorry for the woman) life went on. The Weasley twins have given Hermione, Ron, and him a basic outline of the grading rubric concerning the O.W.L.s before going off to convince some 'ickle firsties' to try their new Puking Pastilles.

And Naruto was keeping his word. Whenever the ninja was shadowing Harry, he showed himself, usually ten feet behind him, yawning, grumbling, and talking to himself in Japanese. Hermione raised an eyebrow and Ron questioned Harry, to which he only gave them a brief account of him exacting a promise from the ninja. Hermione briefly debated whether she should try and research on translation spells to see exactly what the blond boy was mumbling about, but Ron told her to give it a rest. Both were satisfied with Harry's answer and the trio headed off toward Defense against the Dark Arts.

"Wands away," Umbridge instructed the class smilingly, and those students who had been hopeful enough to take them out sadly returned them to their bags. "As we finished chapter one last lesson, I would like you all to turn to page nineteen today and commence chapter two, 'Common Defensive Theories and Their Derivation.' There will be no need to talk."

Still smiling her wide, self-satisfied smile, she sat down at her desk. The class gave an audible sigh as it turned, as one, to page nineteen. Harry wondered dully whether there were enough chapters in the book to keep them reading through all this year's lessons and was on the point of checking the contents when he noticed that Hermione had her hand in the air.

Professor Umbridge had noticed too, walking up to the aisles, but to everyone's consternation, walked past the girl. The whole class discretely turned their heads as the woman passed and was surprised to see someone slouching next to the blond ninja with a letter in his hand, waving it casually back and forth. The other ninja was wearing a see-through mesh shirt underneath a dark green colored vest. He wore khaki colored cargo pants and the same sandals as Naruto. He had his dark hair tied up in a high ponytail and a frown on his face, one that Harry suspected is was his primary facial expression. When the Professor and the newcomer were face to face, Umbridge whispered, with the intent that the rest of the class wouldn't hear, "Can I help you, Mr…?"

"Nara. Shikamaru Nara." came the lazy drawl. He opened the parchment and showed her the Ministry seal. "I've just received a letter by owl from your government and as the leader of my team, I have some questions to ask you."

Ron shot a glance toward Harry and passed a note: 'He wasn't in the room when we came in right?' Harry shook his head, this was really strange.

Umbridge nodded in understanding, "Yes I am aware that the Minister has sent his greetings to you. But I cannot answer your questions right now, as I am in the middle of teaching a class and the business that Cornelius Fudge has with you are a private matter." Naruto looked over anxiously and muttered some Japanese in a low tone; Shikamaru brushed him off and persisted, leaning forward.

"The questions I will be asking are time sensitive and its imperative that I speak to you now."

Umbridge turned back to the front of the classroom, "I'm sure that you can wait till the class is finished," she said, perhaps to try and show her dominance and iron control of the room, and made to walk back to her seat. She stopped in mid-step. Sensing that something is happening out of the ordinary, the Gryffindors from the far side of the room pushed back their chairs and craned their necks, trying to see what is going on. It seemed like the teacher couldn't move, not her foot, not her arms, not her head, her eyes darted to her left and right as she shrieked out, "What spell is this? Release me!"

Shikamaru hadn't moved at all except for his hands, which had assumed some sort of position where one gloved hand partially overlapped the other. Parvati's and Lavender's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as they whispered and pointed to the ground. Naruto started snickering behind his hand. "Blimey," Ron muttered with a hint of awe. There was a small path of shadow, extending from Shikamaru's hidden position to Umbridge's shadow.

"Uncooperative," the dark haired ninja sighed, raising the tension in the room. "Troublesome. Fine, I'll just give you a message that you can take to the Minister: We don't appreciate any attempts to coerce us into joining any sides. Dumbledore hired us and he will be our only client until this mission is finished. It is highly likely that we will go back to our own world and never see you again. Should you, or the Ministry, force us to comply with your demands, then prepare for a diplomatic," here his lips stretched in a grim smile, "accident." His hands fell back to his side, the shadow receded and Professor Umbridge stumbled forward a few steps before straightening. "Good day to you, Umbridge-san." He made another move with his hands and disappeared in a small tornado of wind and leaves.

The class was stone quiet, quickly turning back in their seats to get back to Slinkhard's book, occasionally interrupted by a couple snickers and snorts from the remaining blond ninja that was still lounging at the back. Umbridge literally stomped all the way back to her desk and plopped herself down, a couple strands of hair have escaped from her bun and her face was red with either embarrassment or fury. The next few minutes of class was only punctuated by the turning of pages. Harry felt a small bubble of happiness in his stomach at the fact that Umbridge was intimidated by a kid who was his age. 'Just what powers do these ninjas have?' He was positive that they were hiding the majority of their abilities.

Surprisingly after another couple of minutes, Hermione found the courage to re-raise her hand. Umbridge glared with her beady eyes, but the girl didn't falter, "What is it, Miss Granger?"

"What is the relationship between the British Ministry and the Ninja Continent?" she dared to ask. The rest of the class froze in their seats, holding their breaths.

Umbridge's face turned even more scarlet, "I don't think that is any business of yours." She gritted out, at the end of her line.

Hermione tried to push further, "But with what Mr. Nara said, the two governments must cooperate in order to defeat the common evi—"

"I'll repeat myself again, there is nothing out there," was the curt interruption.

"But, the Japanese government seems convinced that You-Know-Who is out there," she protested.

Umbridge smiled nastily, "You-Know-Who is not out there Miss Granger. Ten points from Gryffindor and a detention with me tonight. You should not go around spreading false information." Hermione's mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish, tears started to prickle at the edge of her eyes. The rest of the class winced in sympathy. "Don't cry, dear," the professor cooed lovingly. "It'll just be a short lesson that we must not tell lies." Her eye moved over to Harry's who was almost shaking in his seat with rage.

"So the Ministry is being completely ignorant and in denial about a danger on our land while other countries are taking more steps for precaution that we are? Not too smart are we?" He asked hotly with his Gryffindor courage, diverging attention from his friend. The outburst was followed by one of the loudest silences Harry had ever heard. There was a single sound at the back; Dean later told him it was Naruto slapping his forehead. Then—

"I think another week's worth of detentions would do you some good, Mr. Potter," said Umbridge sleekly.

OoO

After detention, Hermione rounded on Harry, eyes glittering with controlled fury, "You said, 'just lines.' Why didn't you tell me that she was torturing you?" She was cradling her own right hand closer to her chest, the skin was raw but unbroken, unlike Harry's which looked like the cuts would open at any moment. "She's sick! We ought to go to McGonagall."

"No," Harry said at once, "I'm not giving her the satisfaction of knowing she's got to me."

Hermione looked even more stunned, "Got to you?" She parroted, "You can't let her get away with this! You still have a whole week with her."

"I don't know how much power McGonagall's got over her," said Harry.

"Then tell Dumbledore!"

"No," said Harry flatly.

"Why not?"

"He's got enough on his mind," said Harry, but that was not the true reason. He was not going to go to Dumbledore for help when Dumbledore had not spoken to him once since last June. He heard a small movement of clothing and peered behind Hermione discreetly, there was someone in the shadows, Naruto. "Look, you go down ahead," he said gently, "I'll head off to the Hospital Wing to see if Madam Pomfrey can offer me anything." Before Hermione could open her mouth to let loose a barrage of questions, he slipped around her and walked to the stairs.

OoO

Hermione, Angelina, and Professor McGonagall were all furious at him the next morning. Only Ron, who heard of Harry's lie through Hermione, kept him company as he tried to pull himself together and complete his mountain of homework. Luna, who slipped in some rosemary into his hand in the library, claiming that it was to help him defend a demon fox, didn't count. But he couldn't concentrate, not after the today's events. Every time he set his quill down to begin his essay, his eyes gravitated toward the unblemished skin over his hand, and Hinata's words rushed back to him.

"This is pure torture, Potter-san, since it's forced upon you and self-inflicted. I can only imagine what this is doing to you psychologically. Gomen, but the skin will still be tender and the quill will still cut deeper every time you go back, this is only a temporary reprieve. I won't be able to heal you if it cuts any deeper, my magic would start to directly interfere with yours." Harry smiled grimly. Great, it was something to look forward to.

OoO

It was nearly midnight when Harry left Umbridge's office that night, his hand bleeding so severely that it was staining the scarf he had wrapped around it. The detention had been earned during Umbridge's inspections of Grubbly-Plank's class, which the Gryffindors and Slytherins had together. Again, unable to control his temper, he had gotten himself another detention. With the quill etching deeply into his free-flowing wound, which was incredibly painful, he tried to keep his mind onto other matters: his dreams were becoming ever stranger, walking down hallways, trying to find something… Eventually, he had blanked his mind utterly, burrowing into himself as his hand robotically wrote, over and over, 'I must not tell lies,' 'I must not tell lies,' 'I must not tell lies…'

Naruto met him outside, but this time, instead of heading up the stairs, the ninja dragged him down. Alarmed, Harry asked, "Where are we going?"

The ninja turned around and gave him a calculated look, then trying to explain through broken English, "Too deep, Hinata-chan can't heal." He gestured to Harry's hand, "Hospital place out of potions, so we go down to potion room."

"What?" Harry shouted disbelievingly. He reached out to make Naruto face him, but Naruto ducked easily to the side, "Aren't you following me? Don't you know that Professor Snape hates me?"

Naruto shrugged, "Shikamaru sees; I don't, just think…er… hear." He sighed, as if fighting a losing argument, "Look, I take you there now. Teacher helps you, even if teacher hates you." And without another word, the blond tugged on Harry's wrist and lead him down to the dungeons who was tugging back, trying in vain to release the grip.

"You're mad," Harry informed his companion for the umpteenth time when they opened the door to the potions lab. The ninja merely snorted and dragged him to the office door which he knocked loudly.

"Snape-san! Snape-san!" The blond hollered. Harry fidgeted in his place; never did he imagine that he might one day come here without a detention, granted it was Naruto who dragged him here. The Boy-Who-Lived silently prayed that he might come out of this alive. Snape would probably take the chance to give him poison instead of a healing balm.

There were footsteps slowly approaching, and then the door opened, revealing a hooked nose man with dark greasy hair in a black robe. "You! What do you want?" snarled the Potion Master. His eyes moved from Naruto to Harry, "Mr. Potter, you must be well aware that it's past curfew."

Harry tensed, but Naruto remained natural, "Meh, he with me! We need… he need help, Snape-san!" The professor turned his attention to the ninja, delicately raising an eyebrow. Harry decided that Snape hadn't acted too nasty to him because he was probably also tired. Naruto held up Harry's right wrist, unwrapped the scarf, and dangled the hand in front of the man's face, explaining the circumstances with difficulty, "Since first Dark Art class day, every week day Harry write with a quill that uses his blood. You have potion to help, yes?" He inquired.

The man's eyes narrowed and muttered half to himself, half to his audience, "Blood quills are illegal outside of the Ministry, usually used in blood rituals. And yet…" After a moment of pause, he sneered at Harry, almost like he was reading Harry's mind but still continued to mutter, "Umbridge, however, is under the Minister's orders and not the Headmaster's. I'm sure that anything Umbridge does can and will be covered up by Cornelius Fudge." Without warning, Snape swept past the two boys, pushing Harry roughly to the side and opened a cabinet at the top shelf. He took a jar that in the dim light of the dungeons, looked like it held some pieces of flesh suspended in a yellow liquid and shoved it into Harry's arms, almost causing him to drop the jar.

"If you had been paying attention in my class, Potter, you would know that this is a solution of strained and pickled murtlap tentacles, ask Granger to verify its contents if you don't believe me." Harry was stunned. The greasy git was, despite the insults, helping him, "Soak your hand in that and make sure that I never see you two at this hour again." The office door slammed shut in the boys' faces, sweeping their hair back.

"Arigato, Snape-san!" Naruto cheekily yelled.

Snape had helped him. Snape had been almost pleasant to him. It took a while for Harry to overcome his surprise before hightailing out of the dungeons to the Gryffindor common rooms, clutching tightly to the jar as if it was his last lifeline. It was so strange that he might as well think of it as a dream.

OoO

Ron and Hermione, who had finally forgiven him, were waiting to discuss with him a plan to gather members for a club where he would be teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts.


	3. A Supreme Capacity

So… that sixth Harry Potter movie: I haven't watched it, but my friend had. And the first thing she told me was, "Wow, I totally got where some people came up with the Harry/Draco pairing. I mean, what would you think if someone stalked you to the bathrooms?" So school's starting up- this will be my last work in a long time. Anyways, this chapter has Draco-bashing, not specifically written just so I can bash Draco, but to prove a point in the later chapters. I actually like Draco… maybe I'll make it up to him.

I stole some lines from the actual book because I'm lazy. I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto or the quote.

"Speech"- English. 'Thoughts'- English

"_Speech_"- Japanese. '_Hand signals or thoughts_'- Japanese

And of course-

_I give you…_

**Chakra and Magic**

**Three: A Supreme Capacity**

_((Stupid is forever.))_

_Chapter Sixteen: In the Hog's Head_

"Potter-san." Harry turned around at the unmistakable Japanese accent of the cold tone. He saw a boy, probably his age, with long dark hair that reached his lower back, dressed in an Oriental long, white, hollow sleeves shirt, plain dark pants, and sandals. The new boy had the same headband with the weird design carved into the metal- shinobi. Behind the boy, Naruto was sitting at the table looking at his mug of butterbeer in astonishment.

Harry blinked and turned to his tablemates, who also had shocked looks on their faces, though some of the girls began to adopt a sort of dreamy, love-struck look. The meeting at Hog's Head was almost over, and the group had just recently finalized the details of their new club. But that wasn't the point; the Boy-Who-Lived hadn't even heard the boy coming up behind him, and judging the faces of his fellow students, neither had they. He kept up a brave front, giving the ninja a challenging look, and demanded, "Who are you? What do you want?" Some of the students gasped softly, including Cho, but he was determined not to look away from the ninja's… Merlin's beard, he had no pupils, just pure white, maybe a hint of lavender in the middle of the eyes. "How long have you been here?"

The other boy stiffened and glared at the hostile tone, but Harry inwardly shrugged, it was ok to be suspicious, especially in these times. "Hyuuga Neji, one of the castle… guardians," his lips curled in a most disturbing mimicry of Snape at the last word. "I've heard enough of your little rebellion, and am here to tell you that your security is atrocious."

Ron exaggeratedly mouthed out the words 'Marauder's Map.'

"Oh yeah? Then what would you suggest we do, oh wise visitor of the Ninja Continent?" Zacharias Smith rudely asked, crossing his arms defensively when Neji's unearthly gaze snapped to him. Across the table, Ernie Macmillan let his face drop into his hands and Susan Bones turned pasty.

Although the air temperature dropped significantly around the newly formed D.A., the rest of Hog's Head maintained its usual lack of cheer. "I'd watch what I'd speak if I were you, wizard," the last word Neji spat out with obvious disgust. "Apparently you are too good to accept a warning. We'll see to it that I won't have anything to do with your incompetence." His right hand started twitching and emitting a soft blue glow.

Seeing this as an act against one of their own, the rest of the Hufflepuffs stood up in defense for their housemate, "Hey now," Ernie stammered with his hands in the air, "Let's not get too hasty, eh chap? We can talk about this like normal human beings."

The ninja stepped forward, Ernie stepped back, and Harry stood up, along with Hermione and Ron with their wands out. "Ano sa! Ano sa!" Naruto popped up from behind the dark haired ninja and swung a friendly arm around his shoulder. "Why every body sad?" he cheerfully asked as he scanned the table of, once again, shocked faces.

"Bloody Hell, they just keep popping out of nowhere do they?" Anthony Goldstein muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Michael Corner nodded in agreement.

Naruto pouted and leaned even more into his ninja companion, nearly toppling the duo over before hissing, "_We're supposed to be on their good side._ Baka." He sighed dramatically to his audience before going into a whisper, "Neji's on nightguard, so he's angry that I dragged him to meet Potter-san. He harmless, just no good sleep." Neji glared a warning.

Harry looked once more at the Hyuuga, 'Why are there veins throbbing between his eyes?' and replied coolly, "I'm charmed." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cho look appreciated at him and felt a warm feeling in his stomach. The asian girl ignored Neji and focused on him.

Naruto's blue eyes landed on a blonde girl with a dreamy expression. He waltzed over to her side and hugged her, "Luna-chan! You also friend with Potter-san?"

"You know _her_?" Cho's friend asked disdainfully.

"Hai, we talk lots, dattebayo!" Luna scooted over to allow her blond companion some room. Naruto eased in beside her, "About Ministry keeping weapons and private army and ca-"

"Heliopaths. It's such a horrible conspiracy, Naruto. I told you that there will be an ambush on Hogwarts once Fudge gets enough fighters," Luna interrupted in her dreamy tone. Naruto blinked twice but didn't look puzzled, though Harry caught the Neji's eye darting toward his companion's for a split second.

Puzzled, Neville asked dubiously, "Heliopaths?"

"Spirits of fire," she continued, protuberant eyes widening so that she looked madder than ever, "Great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of-"

"They don't exist, Neville," said Hermione tartly.

"Oh yes they do!" said Luna angrily. Though everyone else was interested in the rising tension between the witches, Harry still had his attention focused on the two ninjas and their slight body language. It seemed that they were communicating by hand signals. Neji grew more and more irritated as his slight gestures with his shoulders kept pointing to the other occupants of the restaurant and the windows while Naruto looked a tad sheepish but relatively unperturbed and seemed to wave off any of his friend's concerns.

"I'm sorry, but where's the proof of that?" snapped Hermione.

"There are plenty of eyewitness accounts, just because you're so narrow-minded you need to have everything shoved under your nose before you—"

"Like the Thestral Theory!" Naruto, having ended his silent conversation with the Hyuuga, chirped.

"Thestral Theory?" Ron parroted.

"Hai! Talked it with Luna-chan and looked it in Library," the other boy vigorously nodded. "It doesn't have to be there to exist." Seeing the crowd growing ever more confused, he waved his arms around for emphasis, "Like those bone-horses, Thestrals: Granger-san can't see them right?" Thoughtful silence, "But they're there. Dakara, things you never see can be real!"

"That's because thestrals affect their environment! People have to explain for their proof of existence; one has to reason out why they can feel an invisible skeleton-horse." Hermione sputtered out. Luna drifted back into her own world, "Things like Crumple-Horned Snokacks and Heliopaths have been stated as non-existential for centuries."

"Well what about Ninja Continent? Can't see, can't touch, can't go, doesn't exist?" Naruto challenged.

"Dumbledore went," the witch replied in a beat.

Neji added his two cents in a blunt manner, crossing his arms and glaring, "On special privilege, and what if he hadn't? Within a few centuries, if we don't come into contact again, which I highly doubt we would, would we become mere myths or fancies in your imagination? If we didn't appear just to confirm your curiosity, would you doubt that we live?" No answer.

Naruto flicked his limp wrist as an uncaring gesture, "Magic explain everything. Magic is awesome, correct Potter-san?" Blue eyes met green eyes, "Chakra is all known, past and future and stuff but magic," he shook his head ruefully, "magic is still not known. All magical roots are in numbers, rune wiggly kanji…" While Hermione flinched at the bad grammar, Neji coaxed out English words out of the corner of his mouth for Naruto to say, "And theory. All not known. Magic is awesome. Dattebayo!"

Dean Thomas looked very confused, "But if you're praising our magic… But aren't your chakra powers better than ours? I mean, I heard that you can trump us all pretty badly without breaking a sweat." The younger students cast the wizard awed and terrified looks for his question.

The blond ninja didn't answer but grinned, showing teeth. Harry was suddenly reminded of a fox in his element.

OoO

"Well, I think that went quite well," said Hermione happily, as she, Harry, and Ron walked out of the Hog's Head into the bright sunlight a few moments later, Harry and Ron still clutching their bottles of butterbeer.

"That Neji bloke's a wart," grumbled Ron.

"A lot of the girls sure don't think so," Hermione replied mildly. "Ninjas, shinobis are a secretive bunch." She mused as she nursed her own cup. "They're all rather beautiful aren't they?"

Ron, who had been draining the last few drops from his butterbeer bottle, gagged and sprayed butterbeer down his front. "What?"

A disdainful look, "Don't tell me that you haven't noticed before. While wizards and witches are on average more attractive than muggles, Ninjas, I think, though it's not a solid confirmation because we've only seen three, blow the competition right out of the water. I guess it's their magical core being much bigger than ours. Let's face it, they're gorgeous. I even heard from the students who went to the hospital wing that there was a girl ninja with white eyes that was also very pretty. Some are speculating whether they have Veela blood in them. What do you think Harry?"

Well she did make a bit of sense. Naruto had been attracting a lot of fuss and looks once Harry got him to open himself to the public. Neji had all the girls' attention on him when he first made his appearance, so had Shikamaru, the shadow-boy. Hinata no doubt held herself very well. The four of them reminded the young wizard of animals; Naruto as a fox, Neji as a leopard, Shikamaru as a deer, and Hinata as perhaps a kitten. "I think that they all have deliberate movements," he said slowly, carefully choosing his words. "Like they have control of every muscle." Graceful in their movements, fluid. And that even if they look relaxed or unguarded, the slightest provocation could result in something… more.

OoO

Tsunade frowned at the papers on her desk, notably, four specific parchments, thick and antique-looking that held the reports from her four tokubetsu jounins. This mission to the outside world, a magical one at that, seemed to be too strange to her. Some people speculated that a ninja's lifespan was relative to his or her paranoia, and the Godaime's paranoia knew no bounds. Frankly, she couldn't trust wizards.

She saw the glint in the old wizard's, Albus Dumbledore, eyes when he came asking her for help, idly fingering that stick of his. She wondered if there are any magical jutsus that can erase memories… Sure the wizard looked harmless, acted harmless, benevolent even, and felt almost harmless. But that was the thing, almost didn't cut it, he wasn't suppressing his power enough, and that fact unnerved her sense of self-preservation. One does not want to tick off a man like Dumbedore.

Her headaches were getting worse ever since the wizard had walked through her door. Skewering the diamond on her forehead between two fingers, she wondered how in the world she was talked into this mission. Why didn't the client go to another country? Kumo and Kiri both held reputable ninjas. And yet, Dumbledore claimed that he was calling in a personal favor, promised and vowed by the Sandaime's own chakra, which was no laughing matter. Her mentor's own power, however dead he was, became a binding contract that she had no idea existed. "_Damn you two old men…" _Dumbledore probably thought that with the contract, he would have more control over her ninjas.

Her ninjas.

Which would probably be true if one thought about it; she couldn't afford to have a chakra-binding promise messed up. The burden would be placed back onto her shoulders, double the weight, if she failed to meet the terms.

She cleared some papers and stacked them into a small pile. On top was a scroll handwritten by the Godaime Kazekage- Gaara who, having received the news as to where his friends went, asked if he could lend some assistance and maybe offer up his brother. Tsunade decided to turn down his help politely.

She picked up the first of the four reports from the outside world- from Hyuuga Neji, and scanned the contents. '_Spying at night… secret rendezvous with the minister or an inside worker… Hyuuga branch member detained by the magic people…_'

'Oh hell.' Her hand instinctively crept toward the 'secret' space underneath her desk, only to grasp air.

No sake. Damn.

"Shizune!"

_Chapter Seventeen: Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four_

Having designated a bunshin to watch Harry, Naruto was lazing around with the Thestrals who had taking a liking to his presence, probably because he always came bearing gifts, big meaty, fleshy gifts. "_Sorry that I had to be away for so long. Here's some more food, Moo-chan._" He handed the rotten cow leg over to one of the horses and watched contently as she greedily tore into it.

Sighing, he leaned against one of the larger pumpkins and propped his head up with his arms. The meeting last night with the rest of the group had been enlightening, especially when Neji and Shikamaru reported their findings. The Ministry of Magic seemed to be a corrupt government and the primary ruling body of magical England. Voldemort-san lead a faction that's views favored the old magic families and used violence to get whatever they desired. Dumbledore-sama also lead his own small band of followers against the other two, the latter in particular, and Potter-san was an honorary member of this group. Each of the outer world's political factions was mirrored within this school.

"_Dumbledore-sama has been keeping this information from us, and it's troublesome for us to find it all out on our own."_ Shikamaru had grumbled. _"He's treading on the line between tolerance and the breach of shinobi-client etiquette."_

Neji's had been perusing through recent mail between the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts, _"They have a Hyuuga in their custody in a Mystery Department. From what I read, it looks like they were experimenting on him."_ Hinata gasped and Neji hurried to comfort her, _"It was only a branch-member."_ Hinata was not consoled. _"Also, Dumbledore's correspondence showed an unusual amount of curiosity about our kind of people."_

"_W-What information did he ask for?"_

"_Our manipulation of chakra, which we know that no wizard can do because their reserves are pitifully small and they need a stick to help them."_ The older Hyuuga sneered in disgust, _" Other than our power levels, we are capable of… creating,"_ a glance toward Naruto, _"demon-containers."_

Said jinchuuriki paled, _"No way, how did he find out?"_

"_I don't think he did. But I think Dumbledore-sama sees that as a way of obtaining greater chakra or magical reserves."_ Neji dropped his written report onto the desk by Hinata's report, which detailed injuries and potion ingredients.

"_He's manipulative, that's for sure, even if it's for the greater good, he is very manipulative,"_ Shikamaru muttered, delicately rubbing his temples. "_What a drag. I say that we still lay low; our information network still leaves a lot to be desired. As long as he doesn't know much about us, we can keep searching for their secrets. But,"_ a small pause, _"weren't there any security measures or recorders around Dumbledore-sama's desk?"_

"_A phoenix spotted me a couple weeks back, but so far nothing had come from it. Dumbledore may or may not know, I don't know if he can communicate with the creature, but he has no motives to let me continue. I think that, had known that I was spying on him, he would've caught me and used me as blackmail against the rest of you,"_ the Hyuuga prodigy concluded.

"_Please be careful, Neji-kun,"_ Hinata whispered softly. _"We are in a d-delicate situation between the Ministry and Dumbledore, any small shift can radically tip the scales in either one's favor. I'm s-scared to think what will happen once Voldemort enters into our life."_ Neji nodded curtly, giving a gentle smile.

"_We'll deal with it once we get there,"_ Shikamaru said and stood up, dropping his report also onto the desk. _"Dumbledore-sama has established himself as an ally, in that he will not directly attack us, so we can be assured that he will not hurt us… at least physically. Now we need to wait. After Naruto sends these off to Hokage-sama, we're going down into the Requirement Room to train. I want to keep our routines up: Neji will be gathering information and patrolling the outside grounds at night, Hinata will be at the Hospital Wing, and Naruto will continue to befriend those magic people, namely the Boy-Who-Lived. Nothing's to change. Clear?"_

"_Hai_." Everyone affirmed.

"Naruto!" A frantic voice snapped the ninja out of his daydream. Harry came barreling down the field with something white and feathery cradled in his arms. It was a cute, pretty snowy owl with a broken wing. "Hedwig's injured. Do you know where Professor Grubbly-Plank is?" He asked urgently.

"Ano," his face scrunched up, "I think I saw her in McGonagall's room."

"Great. Thanks."

The young wizard turned to leave "Matte! Potter-san!" and stopped. He slowly turned around. Naruto was holding up a familiar looking sign with the words, "Neji-kun gave me a small message to pass onto you." The sign was Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four. "He says to you, 'I told you your security was weak. Next time, I would like my words to be trusted with more weight.'" A shrug, "Gomen."

OoO

Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he settled in the shadows of the dungeons where Professor Snape began to teach. Umbridge had decided to inspect the class for today. _Lucky me,_' he thought. After his last stunt of trapping Umbridge with his kagemane, he really did not want to have a repeat performance or even to meet with her. Kami, the woman was like poison; the sweet-tangy-slow death type of poison. He watched as the woman asked the teacher some questions regarding his previous failures of getting a specific teaching post.

"You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, I believe?" Professor Umbridge asked Snape.

"Yes," said Snape quietly.

"But you were unsuccessful?"

Snape's lip curled, "Obviously."

Professor Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard.

"And you have applied regularly for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post since you first joined the school, I believe?"

"Yes," said Snape quietly, barely moving his lips. He looked very angry.

"Do you have any idea why Dumbledore has consistently refused to appoint you?" asked Umbridge.

"I suggest you ask him," said Sanpe jerkily.

"Oh I shall," said Professor Umbridge with a sweet smile.

Shikamaru broke off his concentration to muse in his own thoughts. Was this another piece of information that was vital but yet not told to him? Snape seemed pretty determined to get the post for the Defense class, but Dumbledore seemed just as determined to keep him the Potions Master. There was probably some magic surrounding the post, maybe it was that curse that the students were whispering about in the halls, how no DADA professor could stay for more than one year. But if Snape knew about the curse, then why did he keep applying for the job, year after year?

Unless, Severus Snape was showing a passive desire to leave the school. The Headmaster wanted to keep Snape within the castle walls; Snape wants out. How interesting. Shikamaru stored the information into his mind to reanalyze later.

OoO

Hyuuga Hinata had, in fact, been getting more strange looks everyday. She speculated it was because she was healing broken bones without the use of a magic stick. She also speculated that magic folks in general were a very nosy bunch. Apparently, since she was in 'their territory,' their expectation was for her to answer their every single question. "Why are your eyes white?" "Can you see?" "Is healing people all you do?" "How is it living in perfect harmony with muggles?" "What powers do you have?" "How are the other ninjas?" "Where do you live?" "What's your name?" and lately, "Are you related to that Neji guy?" and "Have you ever killed?"

The questions were grating, and so far she had only offered a few safe answers. After all, the academy made sure to teach wannabe-genins how to run circles around more direct questions, a way to deal with overly inquisitive clients. So she had just smiled benevolently as she healed their bruises, broken bones, sore muscles, bites, and burns while saying that yes, her name is Hyuuga Hinata and yes, Hyuuga is her surname and yes, she is Neji's cousin. She then would become very descriptive about Konohakagure and each individual's personality quirks and would then give little anecdotes of her childhood and the more common D and C rank missions. And by the time she was finished healing them, she would give the students a pat on the head or on the shoulder, depending on their age, and shoo them off while Madam Pomfrey watched amusedly.

A boy her age would often visit her and she was unsure whether he wanted to be friends or wanted to woo her into some odd Britain dating schematics. Father had never instructed her in the lessons of wizard-courtship. She was wary, and, if someone made her admit it, a tad paranoid, but Draco Malfoy seemed nice enough, even if Shikamaru-kun had warned her about him and people like him, so she'd let him stick around for the time being.

Because, ah, what was the saying that these wizards said? "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer."

And so, she nodded and laughed at the appropriate times when Malfoy told an interesting story of Umbridge-san inspecting the staff. Today, Snape-san was the victim and it was unfortunate because Snape-san was, under the rough exterior, a really nice man, and reminded her of Neji actually. The Slytherin was very amiable and it felt nice to have someone conversing with her as a normal friend, even if his eyes spoke of a something more sinister. "-at's the thing Hinata." Malfoy said earnestly, "You have to integrate yourself with the right crowd before you get hurt."

She continued to grind her herbs into a paste as the wizard switched from Umbridge inspecting the students to Umbridge inspecting the school's fireplaces and catching a Sirius Black.

_Chapter Eighteen: Dumbledore's Army_

Harry's scar began to tingle again, as it had since Voldemort's rise last June. 'Voldemort… Umbridge… ' It was imperative for him to prepare the world for the incoming danger, no matter how unsecretive his efforts had been, according to Sirius last night. 'Secretive… Neji…' He gritted his teeth to push down the dislike bubbling for that ninja, 'What an arsehole.' He double-checked the Marauder's Map to make sure that the important people, Umbridge, Filch, and his cat, were still in their respective locations and away from the seventh floor. "Okay," said Harry quietly, while a moth-eaten troll paused in his relentless clubbing of the would-be ballet teacher to watch. "Dobby said to walk past this bit of wall three times, concentrating hard on what we need."

They did so, turning sharply at the window just beyond the blank stretch of wall, then at the man-size vase on its other side. Ron had screwed up his eyes in concentration. Hermione was whispering something underneath her breath; Harry's fists were clenched as he stared ahead of him. 'We need somewhere to learn to fight…' he thought, 'Just give us a place to practice… somewhere they can't find us.'

"Harry," said Hermione sharply, as they wheeled around after their third walk past. A highly polished door had appeared in the wall. Ron was staring at it, looking slightly wary. Harry reached out, seized the brass handle, pulled open the door, and immediately ducked as a knife flew over his head in a straight line trajectory.

Naruto appeared right in front of the trio apologizing profusely, "Gomen! Gomen nasai! Why you didn't knock! You could have been… Gomen nasai!" He fretted, running this way and that, making sure that the wizards didn't have any injuries, "Err, it would've only sliced your cheek. Gomen! Go-"

"Naruto-kun," Another girl with white eyes and long black hair placed a hand on her companion's shoulder, effectively silencing him, "What is done is done. I think we should let them in." She turned towards them and bowing deeply said, "I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Hinata Hyuuga."

Hermione was the first one to recover, "Oh right. I'm Hermione Granger. This is Ron Weasley and that is Harry Potter." Hinata nodded to each of them in turn, maintaining eye contact with the last one, before stepping aside and allowing them to pass into a spacious room with flickering torches like those that illuminated the dungeons eight floors below.

Cautiously, Naruto walked up to Harry, rubbing the back of his head, "Forgive me? It was an accident. Heh." And did a squinty-eyed smile. The wizard smiled back to show that the incident was long passed and the ninja, relieved, bounded over to Hermione who was running a finger along the spines of the large leather-bound tomes on the shelves.

"Blimey," Ron muttered in awe as he came up behind Harry and elbowed him sharply, "Did you see what they were doing right after you opened the door? The girl was doing some sort of attack with glowing hands and then Naruto back flipped and threw that knife." His thumb jerked toward the wall behind them where the weapon was firmly embedded.

"It's called a kunai," Naruto irritably yelled from the other side of the room. Ron froze, unaware that he could be overheard and flushed as red as his hair. The two boys walked cautiously over to their bushy-haired friend who was chatting animatedly with Hinata.

A closer inspection of the room revealed that the walls were lined with wooden bookcases, and instead of chairs there were large silk cushions on the floor. A set of shelves at the far end of the room carried a range of instruments such as Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors, and a large, cracked Foe-Glass that Harry was sure had hung, the previous year, in the fake Moody's office.

"-contents in the room sometimes change when you're here?" The brunette was deep in her conversation with the female ninja, "Oh wow, I have no clue how that happens. Maybe some people walk past this room with a need but they don't pass three times and so the room only semi-forms the needed equipment and then disappears on its own. I guess that explains the fact that you and Naruto ignored the room when it started forming," she gestured at the bookshelves, "these."

"Yes." Hinata replied softly, "It happens rarely though and I don't think you have to worry about your own stuff disappearing until the other person's needs are wholly formed. Still, it's a nice place, very convenient." The other girl nodded and without further ado, she slid Jinxes for the Jinxed from the shelf, sank onto the nearest cushion, and began to read.

There was a gentle knock on the door. Harry looked around; Ginny, Neville, Lavender, Parvati and Dean had arrived. The Boy-Who-Lived grinned happily in greeting and turned around to introduce the two ninjas to the newcomers ... the newcomers to the ninjas who had ... disappeared.

OoO

"_And this is how wizards train: pointing wands and saying gibberish? It's,"_ a dramatic pause for breath, "_disappointing. Right, Hinata-chan?"_

The Hyuuga heiress sighed and readjusted the genjutsu surrounding them, adding another fake layer over the illusion. "_It's how they o-operate, N-naruto-kun_," she explained, dropping her diplomatic façade and reverting back to her mild stuttering. _"I don't think they're used to any other way."_

"_It's just really sad,"_ Naruto winced as he saw Harry half-heartedly congratulated Longbottom for disarming him, though it was one of the weakest spells he saw casted in the room. _"They're in it for their own way, their wizarding-way, similar to ninja-way. But they're so easy to kill."_ The last three words were set in a whining sort of tone.

"_You're g-going to have to get used t-to it."_

The boy hummed his displeasure, tapping his foot on the stone floor, waiting for this magical training to be done with so his own training could resume.

_Chapter Nineteen: The Lion and the Serpent_

But through it all, Naruto couldn't help but sympathize with Potter. In many ways they were similar- determination, drive, courage, and he could see himself reflected in those green eyes, especially when shit started happening, like that broom flying game that everyone in the castle had reverently called 'Quidditch' drew nearer. Potter, that other dark-skinned girl that looked like she could pass for Kirabi's sister, and the rest of the broom team were doing almost daily practices. The rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor was so intense that he was surprised at the lack of bloodshed and dead bodies. Although there had been a couple squabbles in the halls, like that girl who got hit by that hex that made her eyebrows super thick. The tension was so thick that he trailed Harry at a very respectable distance, careful not to get tangled up in these mini-fights.

And when Potter's team did practice, the green team would come onto the field and start mocking the red team about their hair, family, money, looking stupid, etc. Strangely enough, the only person who was affected by the insults was Potter's best friend, who would turn either a delicate shade of green or red up to his ears. Weasley didn't have much talent or experience, but he didn't lack in potential that was just bubbling underneath. Too bad he was letting the intimidation and jeering get to him.

'_In fact_,' he thought as he observed the game days later through the cracks of his fingers, standing on the top row of the bleachers, '_it hurts to watch_. _And to hear._' He added as an afterthought as the song that the Slytherins were singing gradually made its way up to his ears.

Weasley cannot save a thing. He cannot block a single ring.

That's why the Slytherins all sing. Weasley is our King.

"_This is too troublesome_," Shikamaru muttered though the earpiece as said Weasley allowed the red ball to pass him once again.

Weasley was born in a bin. He always lets the Quaffle in.

Weasley will make sure we win. Weasley is our King.

"_Fox to Shadow, I hear you loud and clear."_ He replied, irritated at the fearful looks some of the younger Hufflepuffs were shooting at him. Leaning back on the wall behind him, he crossed his arms and relaxed his body.

Weasley is our King. Weasley is our King.

He always lets the Quaffle in. Weasley is our King.

"_Yes, be careful. With the whole school so agitated, something's going to happen. I know it_." The group leader warned before breaking the connection. Naruto sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, waiting for the end of the match, hoping that someone would just catch that little flying gold ball already. How hard could it be? The Slytherins' singing was so loud that the ninja couldn't even hear the announcer over the mic.

Weasley is our King. Weasley cannot save a thing.

That's why the Slytherins all sing. Weasley is our King.

He got to give the Slytherins credit for this ploy, as it was super cunning and all. And the funny thing was, once you hear the tune over and over, it got kind of catchy. It was the sort of tune he would hum while skipping merrily to class.

Suddenly, the Gryffindor side of the stands started cheering hysterically. Squinting his eyes, he saw Harry pulling up from a dive, holding the struggling ball in his hand. The Gryffindor spectators screamed their approval, while the Slytherins looked like they had been forced to swallow lemons.

Wham! A bludger hit Harry squarely in the small of the back and he flew forward off his broom; Naruto made a move forward before realizing that Harry was only five or six feet above the ground, having dived so low to catch that small, golden ball, but he appeared winded all the same as he landed flat on his back on the frozen pitch. Naruto contemplated whether he should offer some assistance, but it looked like the boy was taken care of enough by his own classmates. The Gryffindors booed and hissed.

'_Gryffindors,'_ he thought as he watched passively, like he was reading the newspaper, '_are an interesting bunch, more hot-headed. I think that if I ever was 'sorted' in this school, I would belong to them.'_ He watched Potter's rival, that pale blond boy who Shikamaru had identified as Draco Malfoy come up and start spitting out more insults. Pity that he didn't learn how to read lips like Hinata-chan, it would've come in handy about now. But the reactions from the Gryffindors were unmistakable as Potter and a red head, one of the Weasleys, threw themselves at Malfoy, only to be frozen by that hawk-like broom teacher.

The teacher sent Potter and his friend away. The Gryffindors' boos were louder and more obnoxious. The Slytherins started throwing insults across the stadium. Malfoy got up and brushed away imaginary dust from his shoulders.

A crack in his ear signified connection, "_Shadow to all. I want to keep a close watch on both of the houses this evening, until the hostilities die down. Everyone's to report in the Great Hall or trailing either the green house or the red house._"

"_Spiral to Shadow_," Neji's groggily voice came through. Poor guy, he probably just woke up. _"If there are such hostilities, what specific actions do we take to maintain the peace?"_

Shikamaru thoughtfully said, "_If a full riot escalates, we help the staff. If the staff cannot assist, we use standard procedure. If there is a specific fight between Potter and the Slytherins, I highly doubt that the staff will be quick enough to stop any damage. We'll just come in with a threatening stance, take no action, and stall for the teachers to come over themselves. Try not to show any powers that we haven't already displayed. We already have enough attention."_

"_Stupid, I tell you," _Neji grumbled uncharacteristically. "_Why do I… where the hell are my clothes?_"

"_In the bottom d-drawers, Neji-kun."_ Hinata helpfully advised. "_But all of your shirts are in the dirty-laundry hamper. You c-can just take one of the c-cleaner ones."_

There was some shuffling in the earpiece before a low shout of triumph from the elder Hyuuga.

Awkward silence. _"… Okay."_ Naruto drawled out, _"Fox to all, I'm cutting off."_

OoO

Harry angrily stabbed at his vegetables, imagining they were Umbridge's ugly visage, fuming. 'Banned from Quidditch. Bloody hell.' The rest of the Gryffindors were in solemn mood, like Death was knocking on the portrait of the Fat Lady. There were some sympathetic looks from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff but the Slytherins were ecstatic and kept snickering, whispering, and pointing in Harry's direction, the twins having excused themselves earlier to give the bad news to their captain, who hadn't been told yet.

'Angelina's going to blow a casket once she hears this.' Ron patted his best friends back and tried to offer consolation, "It could have been worse, mate."

"How?" Harry deadpanned.

"She could have expelled you."

Frustrated, Harry didn't reply and concentrated on his turkey. 'Bloody. Evil. Mad.' Hermione looked like she was going to berate him for his table manners but thought better of it. A hoard of scenarios formed in his mind, how to get revenge on Umbridge, 'Evil. Evil. Toad.' Fire burned in his stomach. A ripple of worry washed over the table and over the entire Great Hall, someone walked over.

"Hello, Potter." Recognizing the voice, Harry fought back the urge to groan, to spit an insult, or to launch an attack; no doubt that Umbridge was watching like a hawk. Instead, he slowly placed his knife and fork and forced his face to assume a blank stare and shoved his emotions down, similar to what he did at his detention where he was writing lines.

"Malfoy," he gritted out.

The blond boy, flanked, as always, by Crabbe and Goyle, smirked, "Such a shame Potty, eh? How does it feel to be kicked off the team?"

Harry sighed tiredly, running a hand through his hair, and went back to his peas. "Go away, Malfoy," he muttered darkly. But the other was enjoying the scene way too much. The Slytherins were watching with rapt attention. Harry stole a glance at the staff's table, why weren't they doing anything? All of them, save Umbridge and Snape, who were monitoring the conversation, were pretending to be engrossed at their own conversations. Dumbledore and McGonagall both had unreadable expressions and refused to look him in the eye. A stab of betrayal, is this how they were going to treat him in the future? Is he, Harry Potter, going to be thrown out to the wolves?

"I don't even know why you and Weasel were angry. After all, I did speak the truth didn't I?" Crabbe and Goyle started snickering. His hands were gripping the table hard in an effort to control himself.

Ron glared at Malfoy with such intense hatred that the blond, for the first time, didn't goad him into the conversation, and settled for only harassing Harry. The only thing keeping Ron from attacking was the warning glances from the rest of the Quidditch team. Hermione looked torn and settled for whispering, "Don't do anything, she's watching and you might really get expelled this time." Getting expelled was starting to sound like a very good idea, if only it would give him one good chance to hex Malfoy and Umbridge to oblivion. The Slytherin, thankfully, didn't hear.

"It's true, Gryffindors are too reckless. They crash headfirst into any disaster, which must mean you have a very low level of intelligence." More mocking laughter. "Talk to me Potty, I'm wondering what you're thinking right now. That is, if you can."

The raging fire in Harry's chest finally made itself known when he stood up and spat out, "I reckon that Slytherins are even more bloody stupid than Gryffindors."

Pale blue eyes fired up, "And what do you mean by that?"

Harry fingered his wand in his back pocket, Moody's voice suddenly coming to the forefront of his mind, "Better wizards have lost buttocks, you know!" and wondered how fast he could draw out his wand in defense. The Great Hall was silent and he didn't take his eyes off of his opponent.

'To the D.A. members: lesson of the day- Constant Vigilance.' He thought and loudly said, "Think about it, the general population of the Slytherins ally themselves to Voldemort," ignored the flinch at the word, "in the name of blood purity. But Voldemort himself is a half-blood. Muggle father, witch mother- I'm more pure than he is. If that isn't the most bloody stupidest thing ever…" He lowered his voice, "And to think that your father kisses the robe hems of a-"

"You're lying!" In a flash, the Malfoy scion whipped out his wand and pointed, his mouth opened to scream a curse. Harry's wand was halfway out, too slow. People around him were too stunned to help; he was going to get hit at point blank.

Then, a small gust of wind blew, screams of surprise, and he was forced down onto the bench in an ungainly sprawl. "Kagemane no Jutsu: success," a lazy voice stated. Draco's eyes widened as he felt a forceful tug at his hair, yanking his head back, and two cold, metal blades at his neck from two different directions; he realized that he couldn't move and couldn't scream. Harry blinked… and blinked again, in shock and hands limp, he didn't notice his wand missing from his grip. 'That could not have been apparation,' he thought dazedly, as struggled to sit up and looked out from behind Hinata. 'She pushed me down? That felt more like Hagrid than a girl.' She stood with her body blocking Harry, blades drawn. Neji stood at the Slytherin's right, hand clutching a fistful of short, yellow strands, while Naruto was behind with his arm angled, kunai also at the throat, poised to slash. Shikamaru stood a few feet away at a crouch, his shadow stretching from him to his victim, hands in the same position when he trapped Umbridge during that fateful Defense class. All four of them were wearing the same none descript cloaks that were the same color as the castle walls.

Naruto laughed outright, leaning forward, breath ghosting along the victim's cheek. "Malfoy-san right? Drop wand… now," he ordered cheerfully, leaving the last word with lots of connotations of an unsaid 'or else.' Hand slackened, the wand fell to the ground, clattering echoed through the silent Great Hall. The terrified boy's legs were shaking; a small whimper escaped from his throat. The only one of the four who showed any emotions, was Naruto, and he looked like he was thoroughly enjoying what he was doing.

Snape stood up with his own wand drawn, eyes blazing with a sort of heat. Harry wondered whether he was furious or frightened. Hinata's eyes began to throb, there was no other word to describe it, and she whispered something to the other ninjas. Naruto turned his head, narrowed his eyes, single hand moving in different poses. Another Naruto popped into existence from thin air. The nearest students shrieked in surprise and some fell back. The other Naruto pulled out some sharp looking metal stars, pulled his arm back, and was about to flick them at the Potion teacher when-

Dumbledore stood up, projecting an air of calm and benevolence around him, students and staff alike began to relax. The old man held up a single hand. "Release him. I'm sure Mr. Malfoy meant no harm. This is a school; I don't want any violence here." And another wave of power rippled through, students shivered, and teachers looked pale, three of the ninjas didn't flinch, the Naruto, who was still holding onto Malfoy's hair, twitched once but he didn't look impressed.

"The mission state we had prerogatives to-" He retorted hotly, looking annoyed. Harry looked over, Naruto's eyes were turning from a sky blue to bleeding purple.

"I'm well aware of the task I gave you." The Headmaster smoothly interrupted, "and I would be very disappointed if any blood was spilt tonight." The fair haired ninja gave a squinty-eyed frown towards the staff table and cocked his head to the right. The aged wizard sighed wearily, "Severus, stand down." Professor Snape shot one last glare and immediately sat down. The Naruto-clone, who hadn't moved since Dumbledore stood, stuck his tongue out and popped in a cloud of smoke.

Neji, whose eyes were also throbbing, sighed and muttered something to his companions in Japanese. Shikamaru slowly stood up, his shadow retreating back under his feet. Hinata spoke to Neji in more Japanese and their eyes simultaneously returned to normal. Harry was shocked when Hinata turned to him and handed his wand back with a small bow, never having realized it was missing. All three of them disappeared in a small whirlwind of leaves. The remaining ninja didn't look bothered that he was alone, and flipped the kunai in the air and tucked it into his cloak.

Immediately, Draco grabbed his wand and retreated quickly back to his own table. Naruto looked a bit puzzled by Malfoy's quick escape, eyes fading from purple to blue. Then he shrugged, seemly immune to all the stares that he was getting, moved his hands in a pattern, muttered something, and he too disappeared in a small gust of leaves.

The Great Hall exploded into a flurry of action and sound, mostly along the lines of, 'What just happened?' Some students were scared, some were curious, and more than a handful were suspicious. Some of the younger students were whispering that the Naruto-clone was physical, that they had touched it.

"I felt it! I took a handful of its cloak!"

"The bottom of the cloak brushed against my knee, no joke!"

It seemed too unbelievable, but all the students that had been near the duplicate told the same story. There had been two Naruto's in the Great Hall at the same time. What did this mean? Could one ninja make an entire army of itself? Such power was at these ninjas' fingertips, what else can they do? Can these powers be used by wizards and witches? After all, both have magic.

The Headmaster once again was in a deep conversation with his colleagues, speaking quickly as if giving out orders. The Gryffindor head's lips were drawn into a thin line. The Slytherin head's skin took on an ashy white. Umbridge finally collected herself enough to pull out a familiar looking notepad, writing down her observations_. -Can't control the ninjas- highly dangerous- take action- _and resolved to send a letter to the Minister.

The Golden Trio exchanged looks and unanimously agreed that they would talk about this later at night in the privacy of their common room.

OoO

"_Well this is fucked up. We're fucked up right now."_

"_Naruto, shut up, I'm trying to think."_

"_They probably are going to kick us out or something real bad. If they haven't already decided to capture us and take us for study, do you think they'll do that? I mean-"_

"_Naruto. Shut up."_

"… _Neji said that Dumbledore's looking for a way to increase magical cores. That means that Dumbledore is going to use us to experiment, like that branch Hyuuga-"_

"_I never said that."_

"_They know what w-we can do now; just a small b-bit and they're really scared."_

"_I could smell their fear."_

"_It had been fine before. Before, deep down, they thought that they could contain us but Naruto here-"_

"_Hey!"_

"_-decided to use something like Kagebunshin. Great job, why don't you just smash a Rasengan into the floor while you're at it? Or shoot off a Suiryuudan to the ceiling? We'll be getting recruitment papers shortly. It's the middle of a war, dumbass! Just count yourself lucky that the protections around the Ninja Continent are updated so that no outsiders can get in again or else other ninjas would be forced into this mess."_

Pause.

"_Naruto, stop walking in circles, you're making me dizzy._"

Pause.

"_So the cat is out of the bag."_

"_We need to know people's opinion of us. We already memorized the basic stats of the students, but now this has turned into something more personal. See who's in power in the government, see what the government thinks of us- not counting Umbridge- see what the staff thinks of us, not counting Dumbledore, see what that Voldemort man thinks of us. We need more information._"

Pause.

"_Tsunade's g-going to be mad at us. R-Remember that update she gave us yesterday? We weren't s-supposed to show any more powers."_

"…_Yeah. But we needed to!"_

"_Why kagebunshin, Naruto? It could've been a bunshin for intimidation, people would've realized later that it was an illusion. Why kagebunshin? Why? You know that Dumbledore can't afford to have us on the defensive against his own people."_

"_Stop shaking me so hard! I used kagebunshin because Snape was going to attack us! Didn't you see? And it's too bad because I actually kind of like that guy. Hinata told me. Mr. Snape was going to… oh"_

"_He wouldn't dare to hurt us. He knows about our reputation, it was a mere-"_

"_Ok, ok, I get it. I messed up badly didn't I?"_

"…_Tsunade's going to b-be really m-mad."_


	4. To Fight Maturely

You know what? This fic is infinity times easier to write than FireStorm. Just thought that I'd throw that out there, though I have no idea where this story is heading and I'm just making up new scenes as they come thinking that, 'Oh! That sounds cool! I'll just add it here!' So. Yeah.

I took lots of lines from the actual book because I'm lazy. I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto or the quote. Thank you _Scratchy Wilson _for beta-ing.

"Speech"- English. 'Thoughts'- English

"_Speech_"- Japanese. '_Hand signals or thoughts_'- Japanese

We're moving folks-

_Here is…_

**Chakra and Magic**

**Four: To Fight Maturely**

_((Curiosity killed the Cat.))_

_Chapter Twenty: Hagrid's Talk_

Hagrid stomped across the room and pulled back the curtain an inch or so to confirm Professor Umbridge's departure. "She's goin' back ter the castle," he said in a low voice, "Blimey… inspectin' people, is she?"

"Yeah," said Harry, pulling the cloak off, "Trelawney's on probation already. The ninjas are on her bad side, but I don't think she can do anything about them."

The half-giant's eyes brightened up, "The ninjas eh? How's the midget blond kid? 'em siblings? And that lazy boy?"

"Wait," Hermione blinked, "you know them?"

"Sure, sure!" Hagrid nodded happily, "I escorted 'em to Hogwarts myself. All 'em are really nice once yeh get te know 'em. Didn't manage to see 'em at work, but…"

The golden trio exchanged knowing looks; this may be their chance to unearth more information about the ninjas, or at least, ascertain their trustworthiness. "Hagrid," Harry started slowly, "they threatened to kill Malfoy in the Great Hall at dinner. If Professor Dumbledore hadn't called them off…" He trailed off, not quite sure himself what would have happened, but he knew nothing good.

"Have te know that they have their own culture. Reckon' that it's normal fer them te do that. Just don't get 'em angry and they won't bother yeh, except fer you, Harry, they're charged with the job of guarding you." Hagrid defended, scooping up his dragon steak from the table and slapping it over his eye again.

"But it almost looked like they would disobey Dumbledore," Ron protested.

"How loyal are these ninjas?" Hermione asked, "How do you know that they won't betray us and go to V-Voldemort? People said that they're hired, they kill for pay, and the Death Eaters aren't necessarily poor."

Hagrid was about to reply to the latest accusation, when some movement at the window through the curtains caught his attention. He hurried over to take a peek while the three students hurriedly went over to a dirty corner by Fang and threw the cloak over themselves, fearing that Umbridge was making a second visit. The gamekeeper breathed a sigh of relief, but still motioned the trio to remain unseen as someone enthusiastically knocked on the door. "Hagrid-san? Hagrid-san! It is Uzumaki Naruto!"

The burly man opened the door and allowed the ninja to pass, "Hey, haven't seen yeh in a while Naruto. Sit down, I got some rock cakes fer yeh."

The boy, however, didn't budge, too busy staring at the different colors that decorated the big man's face, "Kami-sama! Your face!"

The half-giant waved off the pronouncement, "Just a minor accident." The ninja blinked rapidly as if deciding the next move to make, before, to everyone's surprise, he dropped the subject and went along with the, obviously doubtful, explanation. Everybody keeps secrets, and this secret didn't seem to hinder the ninja's mission, so he didn't pry.

"If you say so," he said breezily. The conversation between the two didn't contain any useful information, but got stuck on Fang and his eating habits. Naruto graciously turned down another offer of rock cakes and left, cloak billowing behind him. The golden trio counted themselves lucky Naruto hadn't discovered their presence. When they too left, after giving Hagrid advice on his future classes, which Hagrid didn't seem to heed, the trio walked back up to the castle through the thickening snow, leaving no trace behind them due to the Obliteration Charm Hermione performed as they went.

"Blimey," exclaimed Ron, "I just realized that we didn't get any information on these ninjas." Harry had just realized the same thing with a sense of disappointment.

Hermione was stuck in her own thoughts, "…then I'll go back again tomorrow," she said determinedly, "I'll plan his lessons for him if I have to. I don't care if she throws out Trelawney but she's not taking Hagrid!"

_Chapter Twenty-one: The Eye of the Snake_

"_To my beloved brats_," Naruto read the scroll, "_First and foremost, I commend you on your stupidity, Naruto. What did I say? What did I say? We don't want to make these wizards nervous! Idiot! The only reason why I won't be pummeling you too hard__, __when you come home is because of that weird stick you sent with Gamakichi. The R.D. department said that it's a chakra enhancer and a chakra channel, filled with numerous chakra coils_." He paused in his reading and looked up, "_Here Baa-chan keeps going on and on about how my magic staff will help pave the future of medical technology._"

Shikamaru shrugged, levitating a desk into the air with his staff; a trick he had been practicing and said, "_Skip that part, keep going_." Naruto obliged.

"_Understand that Mr. Albus Dumbledore compelled me to accept a mission to help him because of the chakra-bound favor that the Sandaime and the Daimyo owed him, but once you're done with your mission, which should be around the end of spring, everyone is returning to Konoha. Despite his position to know such things, Dumbledore didn't say anything about the Ministry, and Neji's reports trouble me: there is a M.I.A. report from years back for a branch Hyuuga who had gone on a routine recon mission. Hyuuga Hiashi reported he couldn't reach Hyuuga Michi through the cage seal, and her M.I.A. status was amended to presumed dead. Your new, added objective, Shikamaru and team, is to bring back Michi, alive or dead. Until you find a way to do this, I don't want any diplomatic incidents; don't mix our affairs with theirs. Don't piss off this Dolores Umbridge. Or else. Love, Senju Tsunade, Godaime Hokage._"

OoO

Harry and Ron watched Hermione plow her way from Hagrid's cabin through two feet of snow on Sunday morning. They wanted to go with her, but their mountain of homework threatened to bury them, so they grudgingly remained in the common room. The friends tried to ignore the gleeful shouts drifting up from the grounds from students enjoying themselves skating on the frozen lake, tobogganing, and worst of all, bewitching snowballs to zoom up the Gryffindor Tower and rap hard on the windows. Ron, sending longing glances to the window, was muttering curses when Hermione returned, shivering slightly, her robes damp to the knees.

"So?" said Ron, looking up when she entered, "Got all his lessons planned for him?"

"Well, I tried," she said dully, sinking into a chair beside Harry. She pulled out her wand and gave it a complicated little wave so that hot air streamed out of the tip; she then pointed this at her robes, which began to steam as they dried out. "He wasn't even there when I arrived, I was knocking for at least half an hour. And then he came stumping out of the forest-"

Harry groaned. The Forbidden Forest was teeming with the kind of creatures most likely to get Hagrid the sack. "What's he keeping in the there? Did he say?" asked Harry.

"No," said Hermione equally miserable. "He says he wants them to be a surprise. I tried to explain about Umbridge, but he just doesn't get it. He kept saying nobody in their right mind would want to study knarls more than chimaeras- oh I don't think he's got a chimaera, "she added at the appalled look on Harry and Ron's faces. She sunk deeper into the seat, "He won't listen to me. But," Crookshanks leaped up into her lap, "when I was on my way back, I overheard Luna and the ninja, Naruto, talking."

Harry's curiosity increased, "You overheard something?" he asked hopefully.

She wrinkled her nose, "Naruto had a book on law and the history of the Ministry. I didn't peg him as reader, well, anyway, he and Luna were discussing the Ministry of Magic and the Minister in particular. Quite suspicious, don't you think?"

Ron nodded sagely, "They could be spying on Fudge. It doesn't seem like the ninjas like him or the government." Harry furrowed his brows.

"Well," Hermione decided, "We'll investigate this more thoroughly later. I couldn't stop in front of them to listen and by then, they had already seen me and stopped talking. I only picked up a few phrases. Next time I guess."

OoO

The students in Care of Magical Creatures scanned their surroundings, expecting anything to come out of the shadows to attack them, cringing when Hagrid gave an odd shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like the call of some monstrous bird. The professor gave the cry again. Harry saw a pair of blank, white, shining eyes glowing larger through the gloom and a moment later, the dragonish face, neck, and then the skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse that emerged from the darkness, on its back was a familiar, spiky haired blond, waving cheerfully at the class.

A great wave of relief broke over Harry. These creatures were real; Hagrid knew about them too. He looked eagerly at Ron, but Ron was still staring around the trees and after a few seconds he whispered, "Is floating another talent for the ninjas? It looks like Naruto's supposed to be sitting on something."

Hagrid began his lesson by asking who could see the creatures; Harry, Neville, and a stringy looking Slytherin raised their hands. While Hagrid tried to calm down the agitated class, Harry kept his eyes glued fast onto the creature's pointed fangs that flashed every time it opened its mouth to tear at the cow carcass, bits of bone and flesh disappeared into its mouth. The class gasped and squealed until Parvati demanded an explanation.

"Thestrals," said Hagrid proudly and Hermione gave a soft "Oh!" of comprehension at Harry's shoulder.

'So that's what they were talking about,' thought the scarred wizard as his memories flashed back to the time at Hog's Head when Naruto mentioned 'the Thestral Theory.'

"-only people who can see thestrals," Hermione said with her hand still raised, pulling Harry out of his thoughts, "are people who have seen death."

"That's exactly right," said Hagrid solemnly, "ten points ter Gryffindor. Now thestrals-"

"Hem, hem."

OoO

Harry Potter inwardly fumed as he stalked back up the castle. Hagrid's teachings went downhill the moment Umbridge stepped out to inspect the class, much to the delight of the Slytherins. She made a complete mockery of Hagrid's intellect and his ability to teach and even his speech. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, itching to cast a spell at that toad lady. If only she was stopped like that time. At that thought he paused, "Hey Hermione. Why didn't the ninjas stop Umbridge this time around like back in her Defense class?"

His friend turned around and automatically changed into her lecture-mode, "You have to consider the circumstances after events, Harry. After the ninjas defended you from Malfoy, I'm sure that they are under more scrutiny than ever. Umbridge was there at the staff's table, watching everything. I'm sure that she sent a letter to Fudge about the incident. The ninjas are probably treading on uncertain ground now; they have to be cautious and not make anyone angry."

"Couldn't Uzumaki have done something like, I don't know, pin Umbridge against the tree? All he did was sit on that thestral and pretend that he didn't see anything." Ron complained as he pulled his robes closer to his body.

"Oh, I wish he could've-" Hermione started storming. "That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle!" The trio made their way back up to the castle through the channels they had made earlier in the snow, "You see what she's up to? It's her thing about half-breeds all over again!" Making new paths in the snow away from the castle and, after a slight confrontation with Malfoy and his cronies, at which, , the ninjas didn't show up, onward to the greenhouses, aided by the charm Hermione casted to produce hot air, so that she could melt an easier path through the untouched snow. "Wouldn't usually show them to us before N.E.W.T. level, but, well, they are very interesting, aren't they—"

Suddenly, Harry placed his hands over both of his friends' mouths and pulled them to the side. Ron made an indignant noise before he shushed him and motioned ahead, where two ninjas were conversing by the lake. The trio made sure no one was behind them or heading towards the greenhouses, not wanting a repeat of anyone someone creeping up behind them, and moved forward cautiously, using the snow as their cover. Naruto was leaning against a tree and Neji was standing in front of him, one arm extended forward so he braced himself against the same tree, his arm right next to Naruto's head.

Hermione waved her wand, tracing an ear in the air, and muttered, "Amplifico." The muffled voices got louder with the amplifying charm. The ninjas, for some odd reason, were discussing things in English. Their body language showed that they were comfortable in their surroundings and weren't expecting anybody to eavesdrop.

"-infiltrate inside. Department of Mysteries has unknown location, don't know where Ministry of Magic is," Naruto protested, adopting a very casual pose.

Even from a distance, they could see Neji's expression turned into annoyance, "And when the rest of the magical community finds out about our new orders, they're going to try and stop us, even if we're not breaking any terms of the contract. What then?"

Naruto cringed back and defended his position, "The children at this school are really weak. Take away wand and they are finished. The adults can do things without their wands, especially Dumbledore. While plan won't hurt them, they might disagree with our plan… Children as hostages?" He inquired no more playfully than if he were asking Neji to go swimming with him, sending a cold feeling down the students' backs.

Neji shook his head as if the childish stupidity was ruining his infinite patience, ending the conversation. The three teenagers rushed to their next class in a state of semi-shock.

OoO

December arrived, bringing with it more snow and a positive avalanche of homework for the fifth years. Ron and Hermione's prefect duties also became more and more onerous as Christmas approached. They were called upon to supervise the decorations of the castle ("You try putting up tinsel when Peeves has got the other end and is trying to strangle you with it."), to watch over first and second years spending their break times inside because of the bitter cold ("And they're cheeky little snot-rags, you know, we definitely weren't that rude when we were in first year."), and to patrol the corridors in shifts with Argus Filch, who suspected that the holiday spirit might show itself in an outbreak of wizard duels ("He's got dung for brains, that one."). They were so busy that Hermione had stopped knitting elf hats and was fretting that she was down to her last three.

Between his Quidditch ban, worrying whether or not Hagrid was going to be put on probation, and his huge pile of essays to finish, Harry felt highly resentful toward Hogwarts at the moment. The only thing he really looked forward to were the D.A. meetings, and the recent one after which Cho Chang kissed him. The kiss was, for the lack of a better word, wet, since Cho was crying over Cedric, who Harry still felt was dead partly due to his actions; needless to say, the event was awkward.

Hermione gave him some insight on the inner workings of the female mind, and the information boggled him like no other. The Naruto-Neji-issue was pushed to the back of their minds. Hermione had reasoned that the ninjas were dealing with interference from Cornelius Fudge and it would be better to leave them to their own devices for now. The ninjas didn't even know where the Ministry of Magic was, and Neji did mention that they wouldn't harm the students and professors of Hogwarts. And wasn't the Minister against Harry anyway? What was that saying about the enemy of my enemy? They would spy on the ninjas and figure out all their secrets sometime later. They needed to be closely watched and monitored, before they could be trusted.

Harry placed his glasses on his bedside table and got into bed, but did not pull the hangings closed around his four-poster; instead he stared at the patch of starry sky visible through the window next to Neville's bed. If he had known, this time last night, that in twenty-four hours' time he would have kissed Cho Chang…

"'Night," grunted Ron, from somewhere to his right.

"'Night," said Harry.

OoO

Hyuuga Neji looked out the window at the starry night and then back to the hallway, footsteps inaudible, he stuck to the side of the walls, keeping his breath soft and steady and in rhythm with his feet. The atmosphere tonight felt off, the air was just plain off. He turned into another corridor and to a wall of portraits and he figured it out.

The night was pure silence. Even the people in the portraits snore, and there should be that old man with his cat roaming the hallways, though it could be easily deduced that the pair were just in another part of the castle. He cautiously knocked on one of the portraits, the old man didn't even move. Repeating the action with another couple of portraits and getting the same results, he decided something was definitely off here. He tapped his earpiece twice, "_Spiral to all, reply please, Spiral to all_."

Hinata was the first to respond, "_Sun to Spiral, is everything all right?"_

"_Neh, what's going on?_" Naruto's voice groggily asked.

"_Shadow to Spiral, this better be a good explanation,_" Shikamaru grumbled.

Neji felt a tick mark beginning to form, kami he wanted to meditate right now, "_The portraits are out right now._" Hand against his earpiece to muffle the sound, "_Dead silent, I think it's due to magic_." A slight thump around the corner, another thump, "_Something's going on; I want back-up now_."

Glass shattered nearby and he heard voices, a man, maybe closer to a young adult, softly muttered, "Alright, come on, and let's move it, our lord wants to make this quick. Where are the Gryffindor dorms?" No alarm was raised- wasn't there some magical alarm system in this school? More shuffling, Neji, after activating his eyes, stole a glance, ten men, and all wearing stylized skull masks that seemed to be a mockery of ANBU.

At least his teammates seemed to be out of their half-sleep state, "_Shadow to Spiral, report!_"

"_Fox to Spiral, what's going on there?"_

"_Shut up!_" Neji hissed as a masked man, a Death Eater he realizes making the connection between newspaper descriptions and the intruders in front of him, looked up with his wand raised. "_You're giving away my position. I'm on the fifth floor, West side corridor by the Charm's classroom, by the portrait with the lady and the black cat. Ten masked people, death eaters, all are armed; I'm not sure if there's another invasion somewhere else in the castle._"

"_We're on it_," Shikamaru promptly replied. "_Shadow to Sun, keep your position, if anyone is harmed, we'll meet you at your station._"

"_Got it. Just say the word and I'll come over as soon as I can,_" Hinata stated.

"_What if this is a diversion?_" Naruto groaned. "_What then_?"

"_No time_," the Nara heir groused, "C_ome on!_" Naruto grunted in effort. "_Shadow to Spiral, how long can you hold them off?_"

"_As long as I can, five minutes, tops,_" Neji muttered, hands up in position of the Gentle Fist. "_Hakke Kusho_." A wave of chakra slammed two death eaters violently to the nearest wall.

Chaos.

OoO

Harry shuddered as he tried to get out of bed; Neville was gone, searching for Professor McGonagall. Ron was pale, half registering the fact that he had somehow seen his father attacked by a snake. Dean and Seamus were whispering somewhere nearby. His stomach wasn't feeling good at all. He grabbed his robes and wrapped them tightly around himself, trying to get some warmth. The lightning bolt scar prickled, Voldemort was anticipating something. The dream came back to him in a series of flashes-

Harry put out his tongue… He tasted the man's scent on the air… The man was alive but drowsing… sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor, dark, but with objects shimmering in strange, vibrant colors. Longing came to bite the man… but he must master the impulse… He had more important work to do…

But the man was stirring… a silvery cloak fell from his legs as he jumped to his feet; and Harry saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering above him, saw a wand withdrawn from a belt… He had no choice… He reared high from the floor and struck once, twice, three times, plunging his fangs deeply in the man's flesh, feeling his ribs splinter beneath his jaws, feeling the warm gush of blood…

The man was yelling in pain… then he fell silent… The man slumped backward against the wall… Blood was splattering onto the floor…

His forehead hurt terribly… and he was woken up.

Neville's voice came again, "Over here Professor…"

Professor McGonagall came hurrying into the dormitory in her tartan dressing gown; her glasses perched lopsidedly on the bridge of her bony nose, "What is it, Potter? Where does it hurt?"

He had never been so pleased to see her; it was a member of the Order of the Phoenix he needed now, not someone fussing over him and prescribing useless potions. "It's Ron's dad," he said, sitting up again. "He's been attacked by a snake and it's serious, I saw it happen."

"What do you mean, you saw it happen?" said Professor McGonagall, her dark eyebrows contracting.

"I don't know… I was asleep and then I was there…"

"You mean you dreamed this?"

"No!" said Harry angrily. Would none of them understand? "I was having a dream at first about something completely different, something stupid… and then this interrupted it. It was real, I didn't imagine it, he was asleep on the floor and he was attacked by a gigantic snake, there was lots of blood, he collapsed, someone's got to find out where he is…"

Professor McGonagall was gazing at him through her lopsided spectacles as though horrified at what she was seeing.

"I'm not lying, and I'm not mad!" Harry told her, his voice rising to a shout. "I tell you, I saw it happen!"

"I believe you, Potter," said Professor McGonagall curtly, "come, we're going to see the Headmaster."

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that, Professor." McGonagall spun around with her wand out at the source of the unexpected voice. Shikamaru Nara stood there, slouching, hands in his pockets and the typical scowl on his face. The fifth year Gryffindor boys stared.

"How did you get in?" The Transfiguration teacher demanded, "The contract stated that you are not allowed to-"

"I was looking for you, McGonagall-san, or any member of the staff, but everyone was suspiciously absent," the ponytailed boy smoothly interrupted. "I simply followed you both inside." His eyes turned sharp, "As of two minutes ago, Hogwarts has been breached by at least ten death eaters."

"What?" The elder witch gasped. Neville turned pale.

"Six death eaters are already down, but we can't be sure if there are more of the intruders at other points in the castle, but we aren't taking the risk. The Death Eaters had specifically stated that their destination is the Gryffindor dorms, so as of now, I can't allow anyone out. Or in," Shikamaru drawled.

Frustrated at the sudden bad luck, Harry whipped out his Marauder's Map tapped it with his wand, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The layout of Hogwarts slowly formed and he looked at the dots moving rapidly, trying to read the names. "There are no other trespassers besides the ten death eaters," he said as he hurriedly stuffed the map back into his robes when he caught Shikamaru's calculating gaze trained on the piece of parchment. "Professor, I need to tell Dumbledore! Mr. Weasley's dying somewhere and if we don't hurry…" He growled deep in his throat. "I'm going out there whether you want me to or not, even if I have to stun you," he declared to the shinobi, feeling Gryffindor bravery swell in his chest. "Your job is to protect me and wherever I go, you are to keep me safe."

Shikamaru's black eyes darkened and for a moment, Harry couldn't breath properly, but finally the ninja nodded and sighed. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, muttering, "_Mendokuse_."

_Chapter Twenty-two: St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries_

"Mr. Weasley, you ought to come too," said Professor McGonagall.

They followed Professor McGonagall past the silent figures of Neville, Dean, and Seamus, out of the dormitory, down the spiral stairs into the common room, through the portrait hole, and off along the Fat Lady's moonlit corridor. Harry felt as though the panic inside him might spill over at any moment; he wanted to run, to yell for Dumbledore. Mr. Weasley was bleeding as they walked along so sedately, and what if those fangs (Harry tried hard not to think "my fangs") had been poisonous? Mrs. Norris slunk along on the opposite side of the way, hissing faintly, before leaping back into the shadows. There were sounds of yelling and wet 'splurting'(squelching) noises down the opposite corridor to the Headmaster's office.

"Rasengan!" A battle cry, a cry of agony, another squishing, twisting noise, a sound of metal hitting stone, Harry's legs sent him at a sprint to the commotion, not heeding his Professor's frantic orders for him to stop or Shikamaru's cursing about being 'low on chakra', whatever that meant. What was going on? He had to know, he just had to… Gryffindor curiosity took hold of him. He turned around the corner with his wand out and ready, and then he froze in horror.

There was a pile of dead bodies, kunais and metal stars, blood pooled at the ground, splattered on the shrieking portraits, glass windows, stone walls, the air smelled coppery. Naruto and Neji, both dripping head to toe in blood, were wrestling with one of the Death Eaters, both yelling in Japanese. A few feet away from the duo, a lone wounded masked death eater turned abruptly at the sounds of the newcomers and snarled roughly, "Potter." And pointed his wand straight at the Boy-Who-Lived, who couldn't move as he stared, shocked, at the scene. Harry ordered his legs to move, but they wouldn't, his brain taking in the morbid images and committing them to memory.

"Avada Ke-"

The cloaked man choked on his last two syllables and gurgled, blood flowing slowly from the breathing hole in his mask. Slowly, he tipped forward and fell in a thump on the ground, three kunais deeply embedded in his body, one at the back of his neck and two on each side of his upper back. Naruto stood behind the man, muttering Japanese before looking up through scarlet bangs- were his eyes red or was it due to the blood? "Gomen, you shouldn't have seen that." It took a while for the ninja to register exactly who the audience was, "Shika! What the deal? You say you keep them in!" The blond yelled angrily, his English deteriorating at an inverse rate as his rising temper.

"Urusei!" Shikamaru, not the one behind Harry, but another one on the battlefield who Harry didn't notice before, stepping out of the shadows, face and clothing splattered with blood, barked out harshly. Harry's mind raced, Shikamaru Nara could also make clones, was this typical for ninjas? Naruto shut his mouth with a distinct click and glared harshly at the Shikamaru behind Harry, the air became heavy.

The head of Gryffindor was the first one to find her voice, which came out like a dying kitten, "Potter, the password to Dumbledore's office is 'Fizzing Whizbee.' Go on," she pushed Harry behind her and ushered him away.

Harry looked back, unsure, "Professor?"

"I-I'll be fine," she took a deep breath; Harry had never seen his teacher so pale before. Harry met Ron's eyes and they both simultaneously nodded and headed off, Shikamaru didn't follow them. They hurried up the stairs and behind them, McGonagall screeched, "You didn't have to kill all of them!"

A second later, Naruto's rebuff reached them, "Not true! We left one alive, leader I think, see? Still can talk, we cut off his right arm since he holds his wand there, but we can get him to Hinata-chan so he heals!" A soft groan. The words had gradually gotten softer and softer; Neji said something but it was too low to hear.

Harry waved his wand, "Amplifico." The soft voices turned loud again.

"No!" McGonagall protested at a high pitch, "Here at Hogwarts, in Magical Britain, Mr. Hyuuga, we don't kill, torture, and interrogate the survivor!"

"Nani?" Naruto sounded incredulous. "No wonder you don't win war. Kami, we saved Potter-san! Shouldn't we, don't know, be allowed doing our jobs?" Naruto's explanation was making the situation even tenser.

"You magical stick-waving people are ignorant of a true battle scenario," one could almost feel Neji's sneer of disgust, and raised Harry's hackles. "How do you suggest we treat people who wish to harm our client? Tie them up, offer them your Earl Grey, and start a conversation about why they would want to kill someone?" He mocked. "They're unpredictable, their powers are unknown. We couldn't take the chance, they needed to be stopped, and we did it the only way we know how."

The two boys reached the stone gargoyle as McGonagall shrieked, obviously at her wit's end, "Don't you ninjas have any sense of morality?"

How did death eaters infiltrate Hogwarts so easily? Why would Voldemort send his men after him outright, especially in a world that denied his existence? Was this a test? If it was, against whom? The ninjas? 'Voldemort wanted to see how powerful these ninjas are… these death eaters are merely tools' The scarred wizard felt sick to his stomach as he recalled the scene, blood, mutilated bodies, the ninjas standing over them, unaffected. "Fizzing Whizbee." It was past midnight. Ron hadn't said a word, his pale face contrasting against his red hair. Harry cancelled the spell on his wand. But the door opened of its own accord and Dumbledore walked out with his wand out, a powerful lumos illuminated the hallways.

"Oh, hello," the aged wizard said, eyes twinkling. "Do you know why I had to cast a counter curse on all of my predecessors' portraits to keep them from petrifying?"

OoO

Dumbledore's office seemed to have an enlargement charm cast on it, the dimensions of the place were far larger than before, but still it seemed to accommodate more people. Madam Pomfrey, had offered to do a cleaning spell on the ninjas, but was refused, and was standing in a corner. Professor McGonagall, had left to wake up the other Weasley children. Harry and Ron were sitting on one side of the room, and the three ninjas were on the other, while Hinata walked between them using her special, green magic to heal her comrades. They noticed how she just patted Naruto's blood-soaked hair before moving on to tend her cousin's wounds, although Naruto looked to be the most injured. Naruto pouted playfully but didn't look offended. At the front of the room, Dumbledore sat in a high-backed chair behind his desk. He leaned forward into the pool of candlelight illuminating the papers laid out before him. Behind was an empty perch, Fawkes was patrolling. Phineas had left his portrait to deliver the message to Sirius. The aged wizard was wearing a magnificently embroidered purple-and-gold dressing gown over a snowy-white nightshirt, but seemed wide awake, his penetrating light-blue eyes fixed intently upon Shikamaru Nara who, like his male teammates, slowly dripped blood onto the floor.

"Well, now that Mr. Weasley is taken to St. Mungo's, and the Death Eaters are being cleaned up by Filch, we can now move onto other matters," his eyes flicking towards the lone bound, gagged, disabled, but healed Death Eater that was sitting on Naruto's left side. "I would like to say that I don't condone killing, and just because the other side does not have morality, does not mean that we should not. The light is above these things."

Naruto and Neji exchanged a knowing glance. Shikamaru, the leader of the team, shrugged half-heartedly, "As you wish."

"I am curious, however, as to your methods of dealing with them," Dumbledore ended in a questioning tone. Again, Shikamaru shrugged.

"Our fighting styles are our village's secrets, and we would prefer if fewer people knew about them." The Nara scion suddenly twitched and shuddered; Dumbledore blinked. Looking agitated and ticked off, Shikamaru gritted out, "I would appreciate if you stopped your actions right now, I don't allow any person, without my expressed permission, into my mi-"

"Terribly sorry," the wizard cut him off airily, puzzling the people in the room. "But you can't blame an old man for his curiosity. Once he thinks he knows everything, but comes across some new information, he can't help but investigate. You are, after all, my employees, and the employer must know information about the people he has hired, or else there could be no trust between them."

A long silence stretched between them, interrupted when the study door opened again. Fred, George, and Ginny, still in their night things, were ushered inside by Professor McGonagall, all three of them looking disheveled and shocked. "Harry- what's going o-"Ginny was shushed by her three brothers, who were watching the exchange between the Headmaster and ninja. Ron filled his siblings in on what had just happened. The adult members of the Order realized that their leader didn't trust the ninjas as much as the rest of the world thought. Across the room, Naruto, Neji, and Hinata came to the same conclusion; Naruto looked offended while the Hyuugas didn't show any emotion.

Narrowing his eyes, Shikamaru chose the next words he said carefully and spoke them slowly, "Headmaster, trust is like a bridge, it goes both ways. We had every reason to trust you until we realized that you have been withholding key information that would have aided us in our mission and instead, left us to figure out things for ourselves. You placed us here with no information about our employer. What did you say about trust?"

The Nara boy, the adults realized, was much more intelligent than he looked, and that in itself was very dangerous. He knew how to subtly control the conversation, reflecting the accusation back to the framer, and how to talk his way around facts. Another stretched silence. Dumbledore was the first to break eye contact, looking very troubled, dismissing the ninja who went back to sit beside his teammates, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes. Meanwhile, the Headmaster turned to the Weasley children and informed them about their father. Fawkes returned, trilling a song and left a single golden feather in the middle of the room; Umbridge was coming. Professor McGonagall was sent out to distract her. Phineas returned to his portrait, bringing news of Sirius Black's approval of his soon-to-be houseguests.

Naruto patted the shadow ninja on the back and whispered encouraging words while Harry watched, thinking, 'What in the world is going on?' Professor Dumbledore didn't trust the ninjas and the ninjas retaliated with the same complaint. Was there something here he wasn't getting? Maybe Sirius could explain. The Headmaster called everyone to gather around him.

"You have all used a Portkey before?" asked Dumbledore, and everyone, including the four ninjas, nodded, reached out to touch some part of the blackened kettle. "Good. I will stay to fix the security at Hogwarts to upgrade the wards. On count of three then- one… two…"

It happened in a fraction of a second: in the infinitesimal pause before Dumbledore said "three," Harry looked up at him- they were very close together- and Dumbledore's clear blue gaze moved from the Portkey to Harry's face. At once, Harry's scar burned white-hot, as though the old wound had burst open again- and unbidden, unwanted, but terrifyingly strong, there rose within Harry a hatred so powerful he felt, for that instant, that he would like nothing better than to strike- to bite- to sink his fangs into the man before him-

"…three."

OoO

The house looked like it had seen better days. After introductions were made, Sirius had smiled pleasantly as he shook the bloodied hands of the shinobis, butterbeer was passed around, and every student refused to go to bed, while the ninjas went upstairs to clean and get some sleep in shifts. The next morning after breakfast, and Mrs. Weasley's tearful thanks to Harry for saving her husband, Harry managed to get his godfather into the relative privacy of a dark pantry. Without preamble, he told Sirius every detail of the vision he had had, including the fact that he himself had been the snake who had attacked Mr. Weasley.

"And it felt like something rose up in me, even back in Dumbledore's office, just before we took the Portkey, like there was a snake inside me." He could only see a sliver of Sirius's face; the rest was in darkness.

When he paused for breath, Sirius asked, "Did you tell Dumbledore this?"

"Yes," said Harry impatiently, "but he didn't tell me what it meant. Well, he doesn't tell me anything anymore… Like," He lowered his gaze and glared spitefully at the ground, "I think I should have known that ninjas would be coming to guard me."

There was a couple seconds of silence and with growing panic, he thought that his godfather was mad at him. "Ninjas are dangerous people," Sirius eventually said, firmly, clapping Harry on the shoulder and drawing him closer. The boy looked up confusedly, and Sirius leaned in to whisper, "Don't tell anyone, but this is where I don't agree with Dumbledore's policies. The ninjas were forced into this without pay, I offered the use of the Black vaults, but..." The ex-convict shrugged, "Reckon that the Headmaster wants the ninjas to join the war and fight on our side. I suspected as much since..." he sighed.

"Since what?" inquired Harry.

The man leaned down to look at his godson in the eye, "Listen to me Harry, don't do anything stupid and don't go around repeating what I said."

"I know that," the young wizard retorted, irritated. "I won't tell, Sirius," he said earnestly.

"I know you won't, kiddo," Sirius beamed and ruffled his hair. "Now, this information is very serious," the man snickered a bit at his private joke but immediately sobered. "We took them over because that was a one-of-a-kind portkey to the Ninja Continent. There is no replica. Dumbledore doesn't have a way of sending them back."

OoO

Shikamaru felt a vein throb on his forehead as he was continuously bombarded with questions. He had gone downstairs to get something to drink and the rest of the magical people had taken it as a sign that they could begin his interrogation. '_Troublesome_,' he thought as he slinked lower into his chair, '_I should have made Hinata extract water from the air._'

A man with dark skin, looking like he came from Kumo, sat across the table from him playing the good interrogator to the rugged man with a fake eye's bad interrogator. The good interrogator, Kingsley, held up a hand to signal for silence and leveled his gaze at the shinobi, "I'll ask you again what you did to the bodies."

For the fourth time, Shikamaru sighed as he thought up of another way to maneuver the conversation in his favor, "I'll ask you again why your magic hasn't figured it out yet." He glared sullenly back, "Or the fact that you are breaking all the rules of hospitality, subjecting me to this torture."

"We have witnesses who know what you did, what you are capable of doing. And I think that as your employers, we should know what your skill levels are," the one eyed man growled. Just then, the Boy-who-lived and the owner of the house entered the room and listened in on the conversation, just like everyone else.

"What a drag. I answer only to Dumbledore as per the contract," Shikamaru drawled out. "Dumbledore, I heard, has been gathering the bodies for an investigation. You can draw your conclusions there." He stood up and dusted himself. "I'll take my leave," and headed toward the stairs.

The Order of the Phoenix used the same tactics on Naruto and Hinata, seemingly the weakest members of the team, but they too, effortlessly brushed off the questions.

OoO

Hinata stared at the half-bird, half-horse creature dead in the eye before she bowed slowly and deeply. Her eyes watered but she still refused to blink. The hippogriff bowed back. Breathing a sigh of relief, '_Thank god Shikamaru decided to read the magical equivalent of an animal encyclopedia_,' she ran over to pet his head. "_Such a beautiful animal_," she muttered. "_Did you miss me_?" The bird-horse clicked its beak and nudged her head playfully to the side.

"His name is Buckbeak," a voice said, amused. Hinata spun around and observed the man leaning casually on the doorway; was the owner of the house, one Sirius Black. The light behind him cast strange shadows over his features. After performing the ritualized greeting, he walked over and offered the hippogriff some food. Buckbeak ate greedily out of his palm. "I hope that you are enjoying your stay here? Why didn't you join the others at St. Mungo's?" he asked.

"H-hai," she stuttered at first. "A-ano… I'm just taking a break. The hippogriff is- Buckbeak is very good at relaxing me."

The man chuckled. "I'm sure. Beaky's picking up women faster than I did in my younger years," he teased before frowning and wiping the blood of the dead animals off onto his pants. "I hope Harry's been civil to you at least. He hates the idea of needing to be protected- actually, I'm sure he's convinced he's the only one that should do the protecting." Sirius began to pet Buckbeak's neck as well, smoothing out the feathers as he went, a small smile on his face. "I did hear that you had a disagreement with Dumbledore," he said a little too casually.

It took a moment for the girl to choose her next words. "Dumbledore had been withholding information from us. The mission parameters he gave us merely said that we must protect the school, and Potter-san in particular. Which I guess is enough," she sighed, deciding to play on his sympathy. "We've received less information before, but it makes our job so much harder. And it makes us feel less obligated to give out information concerning ourselves." In her mind, she formulated a plan. Black-san seemed like he was a nice, fair man and didn't appear to hold Dumbledore as highly as some of the other adults in the house. "I don't think that many of the Order members trust us."

"Oh?"

"No," she continued. " We've found something important, but don't want the Order to ignore the information because it came from us. Can you help, Black-san?" No reply. Buckbeak purred as his neck continued to be scratched. "It has to do with the Department of Mysteries." She was cautious not to come close to revealing what the information was about: an abducted member of her clan. Even if it was a branch member, she cared about everyone in her family. She prayed that Hyuuga Michi was safe and sound, or, if not, that she had a painless, quick death and was proud to have protected her clan's secrets.

'_And if Black-san tells me something useful, he indirectly tells the whole team because of Naruto's seals_.' Her mind raced with the possibilities.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "You found out about the Department of Mysteries?"

'_There's something else in the Department of Mysteries besides my missing family member?_' Hinata thought, partly worried, but partly relieved she hadn't been mistaken in his character.

She watched Sirius give the thought some serious consideration, wondering what was going through his mind. The ninja crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping that he wouldn't ask too many questions about her flimsy reason. "I won't ask you where you got the information, but I'll tell you anyways. In return, I'll ask for one thing," he acquiesced and Hinata blinked, fighting the urge to pinch herself at her good luck, and nodded slowly. Sirius petted Buckbeak's head with a shaky hand. "It's pretty simple, but I want a bit more heart in this mission. I can't think of this as just a job. Please protect my godson, make sure nothing wrong happens to him."

The defeatist tone alarmed her slightly and made her wonder whether the man could see his own death. Buckbeak nibbled at Sirius's pants and squawked when he was brushed back.

An hour later, Hinata was left in her room, one that she shared with two other girls, laying on her back, and thinking. '_The Department is in the Ministry, underground. The directions there should be easy to get, but it's the actual infiltration that will be a hassle. How do you do that with Dumbledore around? And then there's a prophecy concerning Potter-san down there that the Dark Lord wants, and other staff that are there too… And Potter-san has no clue there was even a prophecy about him in the first place.' _Finally, she _came to a decision. 'The stakes are too high; we'll have to wait for the perfect moment and then strike._' She turned on her side and slipped into the world of dreams.

OoO

Naruto and Neji followed the group of wizards to Saint Mungo's. Shikamaru was off to Diagon Alley, trying to find more books about the Ministry. The waiting room was filled with adults and children, some were spouting wings, and others were hopping in place like they were standing on hot coals. Harry Potter and his entourage were standing in line to the 'Welcome Witch' that was slowly inching forwards. As someone mooed in the corner, Naruto disinterestedly scanned the floor guide:

ARTIFACT ACCIDENTS…..Ground Floor

(_Cauldron explosion, wand backfiring, broom crashes, etc.)_

CREATURE-INDUCED INJURIES…..First Floor

(_Bites, stings, burns, embedded spines, etc_.)

And he stopped there, '_Weasley-san's father was bitten by a snake, right?_' The Welcome Witch sat at her desk, running her finger down a long list in front of her, answering Weasley-san's mother's question.

"Arthur Weasley? Yes, first floor, second door on the right, Dai Llewellyn ward."

"Thank you," said Mrs. Weasley. "Come on, you lot."

They followed through the double doors and along the narrow corridor beyond, which was lined with more portraits of famous Healers and lit by crystal bubbles full of candles that floated up on the ceiling, looking like giant soapsuds. More witches and wizards in lime-green robes walked in and out of the doors they passed; a foul-smelling yellow gas wafted into the passageway as they passed one door, and every now and then they heard distant wailing. They climbed a flight of stairs and entered the "Creature-Induced Injuries" corridor, where the second door on the right bore the words "DANGEROUS" DAI LLEWELLYN WARD: SERIOUS BITES. Underneath this was a card in a brass holder on which had been handwritten _Healer-in-Charge: Hippocrates Smethwych, Trainee Healer: Augustus Pye_.

Neji's Byakugan was activated, but a quick scan showed him nothing. The walls here were similar to Hogwarts' walls, they couldn't be breached. A little part of the Hyuuga felt disappointed; he had been immensely curious as to what these foolish wizards and witches could do to land them in this sort of despicable place.

"We'll wait outside, Molly," the young witch with the kekkei genkai, Tonks said. She had insisted to be called her by surname at the ninja-wizard introductions back on the first night at Grimmauld's Place. "Arthur won't want too many visitors at once… It ought to be just the family first." The man with the limp, Moody, growled his approval of the idea and settled against the back of the corridor wall, his fake eye spinning. Neji noticed that many times, the eye paused in his direction. The family of redheads pulled Harry with them and shut the door behind them.

Naruto immediately took a strategic position by the door to the ward, able to see in all directions and to hear, even through the door; he sat on the floor in a crouching position. Time passed, Tonks awkwardly cleared her throat and played with her hand, extending fingers, making her skin wrinkled, adding claws, then pink… Naruto's right eye twitched: the family wasn't talking about anything relatively important, and then he shook his head, hands moving in a familiar sign language. Neji caught the message, '_Government coming, speaking injured family_.'

Sounds of footsteps and soft voices drifted near. Tonks straightened her back, her grip on her wand tightened. The ninjas didn't move from their positions. Mad-Eye turned his head toward the noise just as an old man in a black hat and coat and an older version of Draco Malfoy, perhaps a relative, turned the corner and came into view.

"-going to be the death of me, not loyal at all, unlike you…" Fudge looked up in genuine surprise, the blond man did not, but coolly raised an eyebrow instead. "Mad-eye! What are you doing here?" Stepping into view, just behind the two men was Dolores Umbridge. Neji wondered whether the blond, aristocratic man had manipulated them into coming. Mad-Eye Moody wisely kept silent.

The elder man scrutinized Tonks for a while, who had immediately transformed her features into another witch as soon as she heard the intruders, before shifting his gaze to Naruto, whom he quickly dismissed, and finally settling on Neji. His eyes took in Neji's hair and eyes, then at the embedded Konoha symbol on his headband, and then he did a double-take at Naruto and his headband. Naruto looked up and cocked his head to the right, questioningly, and asked, "Hello, may I help you?"

The man seemed to shake himself out of his stupor and regained his balance before saying imperiously, "I, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magical Britain, formally greet you, ninjas of the Ninja Continent." He held out his hand to shake.

After eyeing the hand dubiously, Naruto shook it reluctantly while sitting, mumbling, "...Pleasure." He stood up and went over to Neji's side before sitting again, clearly signaling who was in charge. The minister blanched slightly at what he feared to be a faux-pas, and offered to shake the Hyuuga's hand.

"My apologies, I did not realize that there was a hierarchy within the group," Fudge fumbled through.

'_Actually_,' Neji thought sourly, '_There isn't. Naruto did that merely to put you off-kilter and to place the burden of talking on me._' "No harm done," he replied levelly. "I am Neji Hyuuga and this," he gestured down to his side, "is Naruto Uzumaki." The blond tilted his head back and closed his eyes with a very childish on his face.

"Ah! Where are my manners?" Fudge abruptly stepped aside and waved toward the stout lady, "Dolores Umbridge, as you already know, Hogwarts High-Inquisitor." The woman sniffed daintily, "And the fellow over there is Lucius Malfoy, head of the Malfoy family. You may know his son; he's in fifth year right now, Draco, is it?" Naruto stared at the blond man with blatant curiosity as the man sneered. The resemblance was uncanny.

'_Until you find a way to do this, I don't want any diplomatic incidents; don't mix our affairs with theirs.' _With the Godaime's orders still fresh in his mind, Neji bowed low, "I apologize for holding you. We'll let you continue with your business." But Fudge waved a hand airily. Umbridge gave a high-pitch giggle, anticipating something.

"I say nonsense! It can wait; I actually have more pressing concerns about you two." The minister adopted the benevolent grandfather facade, "I haven't been informed yet. What would you say is the future for Magical Britain- Ninja Continent relations?"

That question was too troublesome. Trying to think like Shikamaru, Neji placed his hands into his pockets and tried to hide his disdain, "The Ninja Continent has remained isolated from the Magical Communities for decades with unwavering determination. As far as I can see, and with what I have observed of your government, Minister, my leader has hinted it is very likely we will return to the status-quo, as will the other leaders of the Continent after our contract is fulfilled. But I am not aware of my leader's political decisions." Let Fudge think his relationship with the Hokage couldn't be of any advantage to him. Some Healers bustled to their direction, levitating an unconscious man, and entered another ward.

Cornelius didn't catch the jibe, but Lucius Malfoy did. "But," Fudge started, adjusting his hat and straightening his coat, a sign of nervousness, "you willingly accepted a mission from Dumbledore, but not the official Ministry. We have been trying to contact your people for a long time to no avail, and then suddenly you appear on the side of my political enemy. Pardon me if I'm wary of your intentions."

'_Willingly?_' Neji inwardly snorted. "We had no idea that the political atmosphere was so charged when we arrived, nor did we realize how far our reputation preceded us… Whether that reputation is true or not, is another matter." Tonks seemed to choke on her breath and coughed like she was trying to hack phlegm out of her throat. "Our reason to for coming was because the Sandaime, our previous leader, owed a favor to Albus Dumbledore. We honor our debts."

"And what was that favor for?" Umbridge inquired, gathering her courage from the presence of the powerful men she hid behind. Two against one now.

"Classified," Naruto said smoothly, eyeing the woman like she was a bug that deserved to be squashed. The woman backed off. Two against two.

Fudge glared at Mad-Eye and muttered, "Be thankful that you retired from my forces." The ex-Auror's pinned the pudgy man with a piercing stare.

"Enough," Lucius Malfoy gestured with his cane and walked forwards, dominating the group with his presence that screamed nobility. His eyes flickered over the Neji's visage before smirking, "Interesting coloring: pale eyes, dark hair, fair skin. I assume that this is a family trait?"

"…Yes," Neji responded after a beat, while narrowing his eyes and coiled his body into a metaphorical spring.

"Do your features serve any other purpose? I recall stories of a woman also with the surname Hyuuga, the same attributes, and some very interesting secrets," the man replied, smiling haughtily.

'_Hyuuga Michi…_' "I'm sure that you were, and perhaps still are acquainted with her then, Mr. Malfoy," Neji said tersely. "Which means you should also know, that the answers to your questions are kept secret from any outsider. Wizards, as far as I can tell, are far too curious a bunch for their own safety." He let his disgust leak out of the last sentence. The dark haired boy suppressed a wince as Naruto aimed a sharp kick at his shin.

'_Keep calm you idiot. This is politics_.' Naruto watched warily as Fudge turned purple and huffed, insulted.

Lucius looked interested, however, and tapped his cane once on the ground. "I have no connections to what you are talking about, though I have heard, by word of mouth, of a situation that concerns you. But, I hope, we can talk about that later." Lucius turned slightly block the rest of the corridor from view. "While not in front of curious wizards that might cause trouble for either of us." The man slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out an envelope with a red seal. Seeing Neji follow the envelope warily, the head of the Malfoy family sighed, obviously irritated, "I swear on my magic that what I'm giving you will not harm you physically or mentally. It is merely an invitation to the annual Malfoy Yule Ball." The vow floated into the air, swirled, and dispersed between them.

"_No harm done in just accepting an invitation right_?" Naruto said cheerfully as the Hyuuga turned the envelope this way and that with his Byakugan activated. "_Just take it; Shika-kun will know what to do._"

Lucius ignored the Japanese and continued, "Despite my family's… reputation," he sneered in Moody's direction who growled back, "I promise that it wouldn't do any disservice by associating with each other. I would like to meet with you and your leader. I'm sure a discussion about our respective, distinguished families in a more friendly atmosphere would be mutually beneficial. We can come to an understanding, I hope?" The dark-haired shinobi tucked the envelope into a sleeve.

"Our reply, whether we accept or decline, will be given via owl."

A flash of emotion went across the man's gray eyes: inquisitiveness, power, hunger, lust. "Excellent," the Malfoy head almost purred, before he turned to his companions. "Shall we?"

"Of course! There was a reason why we are here, after all," Fudge nodded and turned sharply to the door to the Dai Llewellyn Ward and opened it. The ward was small and rather dingy as the only window was narrow and set high in the wall facing the door. Most of the light came from more shining crystal bubbles clustered in the middle of the ceiling. The walls were of paneled oak and there was a portrait of a rather vicious-looking wizard on the wall, captioned URQUHART RACKHARROW, 1612-1697, INVENTOR OF THE ENTRAIL-EXPELLING CURSE.

There were two patients besides Mr. Weasley. The entire Weasley family and Harry Potter had congregated around the man's bedside and they were all scarlet with anger. Neji spotted a fleshy looking string hanging from one of the twin boys' fingers. "Mr. Weasley!" Fudge exclaimed, strolling in like he owned the establishment, refusing to let his gaze wander to the Boy-Who-Lived, "I see that you are all better now!"

Molly unconsciously shifted her body over to protect her husband. Mr. Weasley scratched his cheek, utterly perplexed, "Well, yes, but I still need a couple more da-"

"Perhaps you can tell us what in Merlin you were doing that night at _that place_?" Umbridge simpered. Tonks, still disguised, and Mad-Eye Moody walked into the ward and stood by the Weasley family's side. The ninjas remained in the doorway, watching the scene with calculating eyes.

"Yes," Lucius sneered, "I am quite curious of your explanation as well, Arthur." Some people bristled.

Molly ushered the children outside and quickly shut the door behind her. The wizards and witches glared at the two ninjas for a long time who were nonplussed. The hostility was apparent and it didn't take long for Ron to sputter out, "Why did you consort with the enemy?"

Naruto blinked and asked, "What do you mean, Ron-san?"

"The Malfoy family is Dark; they're in league with the You-Know-Who!" The boy was furious, his hands were twitching like he wanted to throw a punch and his face was the same shade as his hair.

"What I did, was show tact and respect to elders," Neji coldly stated. "Something that you apparently don't understand, wizard." Noises of disbelief arose from the other magical people.

"Liar. We heard-"a twin started.

"-everything," the other finished, holding up the fleshy string looking apparatus. Naruto inspected it from a distance, fingers twitching to get a hold of it.

"It is called being neutral," Neji replied, a tick-mark forming on the corner of his brow. "Did you know that it means to not defer to any side and to avoid any conflicts?"

"Bull," Harry objected, pissed off. "I knew that you lot were untrustworthy," he accused brazenly. "I bet you betrayed us for more-"

He was cut off by the sudden presence of Naruto inches away from his face. Naruto He had moved so fast that his form had blurred. People behind them gasped in shock, still not used to the ninja's speed. But no one attacked. Blue eyes were now purple as the ninja asked silkily, "What did you say?"

Harry summoned his courage and said resolutely, "I said that with the way you are acting, I consider you guys as traitors." Thinking of Peter Pettigrew, 'Traitors like him and you should die.'

There was a silence that chilled the blood in everyone's veins. Naruto's anger never lashed out, but simmered under the surface, so unlike his boisterous nature. There was a presence in the air, a corporeal feeling of anger that made it hard for the wizards and witches to think properly. For a second, it seemed like the usually easy-going blond boy was inclined to rip all of them into pieces. "I," Naruto spoke, touching his chest, between his heart and shoulder, "will never become a traitor." Harry wondered whether he had unwittingly touched a nerve, what memory he had forced to resurface.

"Whoa," the youngest and only girl in the hall, Ginny, whispered shakily as the atmosphere grew thicker.

Naruto ignored her, but focused instead his attention to the scarred boy. "How dare you. Overly curious and nosy wizards. How dare you," he repeated. "You have no idea how it is."

The boy vanished in a whirlwind. The thick charged feeling in the air disappeared, but the foreboding feelings blooming in Harry's chest didn't. Neji stared at them blankly for a few seconds, before doing the same.

OoO

When the unwanted guests had left the ward, (Mr. Malfoy's expression was closely watched for any change when informed that the ninjas had left), the members of the Order discussed various events with Mr. Weasley in the 'privacy' of the room. With the use of the Extendable Ears, his children were able to overhear everything. They agreed to report the ninja's interactions with Lucius Malfoy to the Headmaster at a later hour and moved on to the snake's attack and Voldemort's plans.

"Yes," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded rather uneasy. "You know, Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this…"

"Yeah, well," said Moody, "there's something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that."

"Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning," whispered Mrs. Weasley.

"Course he's worried," growled Moody. "The boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake… Obviously, Potter doesn't realize what that means, but if You-Know-Who's possessing him-"


	5. Unfolding the Crane

Dude, my other fic: _Tales of a Wanderer_, is getting so many reviews… its freaking mindboggling. Like 'o_O' boggling. I feel jealous on behalf of my other stories, since I love them all equally. Like I said, this story's more than halfway done, because I'm not a type of person who's uber prolific and able to commit to 100+ chapter stories (ie: Lightning on a Wave [o_O]).

I took lots of lines from the actual book because I'm lazy, events that I don't mention that are in the book are in the story unless stated otherwise. I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.

"Speech"- English. 'Thoughts'- English

"_Speech_"- Japanese. '_Hand signals or thoughts_'- Japanese

Right along-

_And…_

**Chakra and Magic**

**Five: Unfolding the Crane**

_((It's a slow process that results in...))_

_Chapter Twenty-three: Christmas on the Closed Ward_

The meeting of the members of the Order of the Phoenix was especially tense: the walls were covered with privacy charms, and they even sent Mundungus to act as a patrol on the staircases, determined that this time, no one, ninjas or student wizards and witches, would be overhearing them. Albus sat at the head of the table with a variety of parchments arranged in a semblance of organization in front of him, regularly scanning the information until Minerva managed to quiet her fellow members and direct their attention to him.

Alastor and Nymphadora had just finished their report of escorting Harry and Co. to St. Mungo's to visit Arthur. The ninjas' reactions to Cornelius and Lucius were troubling, and considering that the bond between client and the employer hadn't been able to develop, the possibility of the foreigners betraying them seemed likely. But then again, there was that strict code of honor Hiruzen had mentioned to him that guaranteed a ninja's devotion and trust- but times had changed, and Albus had heard stories of exceptions. In the end, the Headmaster told his subordinates that he'd see what he could do to prevent the defection of the ninjas.

Finally, when he was sure that all eyes were on him, the aged wizard folded his arms and said gravely, "The autopsy reports for the bodies from the attack on Hogwarts have come back to us. I won't say who the Death Eaters were for the sake of anonymity, but that I turned them over to the Ministry who-" it took him a moment to overcome the slight twitch of annoyance in his right eye, "proceeded to hush everything up."

As expected, people began to protest and deride the stupidity of the Minister and his bureaucracy. Others shook their heads dolefully and sipped their Earl Grey, as if they had expected this sort of behavior from their ruling body. There were general claims of the unfairness and the inability Cornelius Fudge to just open his eyes to the facts… And when they had vented enough and could begin, once again, Kingsley Shacklebolt ventured to ask, "Do the reports indicate what exactly the ninjas did to them?"

Ah, the important topic of the night. One that would hopefully shed valuable light on what these mysterious ninjas were capable of. They already knew that the ninjas were powerful, though they don't show their abilities and were rarely seen on the job, but just how powerful was the concern. Albus shuffled his papers and peered over his spectacles, "Ten Death Eaters, nine dead, one alive and in St. Mungos. The causes of death for many of them were certainly creative." The aged man chose his words carefully, "A total of five solely had internal damage as the C.O.D. Of these deaths, there was minimum to no magical residue. In this group, three had their magical core blown up."

Molly Weasley clasped her hands over her mouth in horror and whispered tearfully, "Oh god."

Like a merciless general, he plowed on, "Two of them had a large, fist-sized hole in their chest, large magical residue that seemed to have created an inner vortex, but no real spell. One of the Death Eaters seemed to have been dead by strangulation, though there were no bruises indicating he was ever touched. And the final Death Eater's C.O.D. was a stab wound to the base of his head." He sighed, "There were other wounds on the dead that implied a large struggle, various cuts, wounds, bruises, broken bones…" The information made him dread even attempting to find more about the foreigners. Just what were they?

As the rest of the Order speculated and mused, Sirius Black reexamined all the facts with a critical eye. Ten Death Eaters stormed and broke through the wards at Hogwarts, which was unheard of (Dumbledore promised to look into that.). The Death Eaters were relatively weak, new recruits, not as dangerous as those in the You-Know-Who's Inner Circle. The one survivor didn't offer anything useful after being administered Vertitaserum. The ex-con suspected that the whole thing was merely a test given by the Dark Lord- question was, for his followers or the ninja?

OoO

Harry settled himself more comfortably against the wall of Buckbeak's room when he heard the doorbell and Mrs. Black's screams. Thinking that it was just another Order member coming in for a house call, he jumped in surprise a few minutes later when he heard someone hammer hard on the door.

"I know you're in there," said Hermione's muffled voice. "Will you please come out? I want to talk to you."

On the other side of the door, he saw a bushy-haired witch, her cheeks still red from the cold, glaring exasperatingly at him. After the regular greetings and her explanation about her abysmal talents at skiing, Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out a couple pages of notes with cramped, small, yet neat handwriting. "I managed to unearth one single tome on shinobis from Flourish and Blotts when I went to Diagon Alley to get Christmas presents. They only mentioned ninjas in passing; the actual book covered a long history of Magical Britain's foreign relations." Harry peered over, not bothering to disguise his interest, realizing that even though more than half of the school year had come and gone, he knew almost nothing about his guards.

"Anything that we don't already know?" he asked, throwing the last of the scraps to Buckbeak carelessly behind him.

Hermione examined her notes, squinting in the dim light, "They can control the elements, transform, summon animals, and enhance their speed and strength, all because their magic cores are so much larger than ours. They sometimes use 'hand seals' like we use our wands, but not always. Shinobis don't betray their clients unless the client withholds information that is against them and their morals." The girl looked up, smiling brightly, "I can't see Dumbledore doing that, so I guess that the issue about trust is one thing we can sweep under the rug." The sentence came out as a half-hopeful question. Ron must have written to her about what had happened in the Headmaster's office before they portkeyed to St. Mungo's.

'She might think that the ninjas won't deceive us,' but Harry remembered Sirius's words. Dumbledore had no way of returning his hired mercenaries back to their home. Which begged the question, if the Headmaster knew that he couldn't, why did he bring them anyways? 'Are they just here to do our dirty work? They don't seem to have any problems killing; just like Voldemort. Do they have any morals?' Small flashes of that night, where the floor was soaked with blood and where he saw dead bodies piled haphazardly together, entered his head. Harry didn't think so.

Naruto and he were not on good terms anymore- the past few days, he and the blond were careful to be at least five feet away from each other at all times. The others had noticed this, but no one seemed willing to be the first to apologize. These days, Harry could feel the distinct tang of awkwardness, not to mention a cloud of hostility and distrust surrounding Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

OoO

At St. Mungo's, Harry bent over and splashed water onto his face from a sink and then stared at the mirror. He had excused himself from the rest of the group to cool off after his sudden irritation at Ron's lack of tact, when the secret about Neville's parents, who were in the same ward as Lockhart, tortured into insanity, had come to light. This holiday was shaping up to be something really dreadful, he mused as the mirror remarked, "Please dry your face, dear." He leaned in, raised his fringe, and examined his scar. The swelling had lessened, but it was still an angry red. Behind him, he saw the washroom, blank tile walls and floating lights, the stalls were opposite of the doors around the corner. It looked like he was alone, it felt like he was alone, but he couldn't be. A small plan, slightly reckless, (but when wasn't he?) formed in his mind.

"You can come out," he said as calmly as he could, despite feeling foolish, "I want to talk to you."

Nothing happened, but then, Shikamaru Nara materialized from the shadows, seemly stepping out of a dark doorway, hands in his pockets, the patented bored, lazy expression on his face distracted from the sharp look in his eyes. "Yes?" Harry was relieved to see that it wasn't Naruto. Though Shikamaru had never been really friendly like Hinata, he was a better companion than Naruto, or Neji for that matter.

He turned around and leaned back against the sink, hand casually placed by his jean pocket where his wand is was. "Hello, just have some questions, would you mind answering them?"

The ninja tilted his head to the side and gave an unnerving stare. Having been aware of the high-strung atmosphere back at Headquarters, Shikamaru weighed the pros and cons of his options. Harry gulped, beginning to regret drawing on his Gryffindor bravery. Shikamaru stood poised to move in any direction, a pure embodiment of Moody's tirade over constant vigilance, a deer blending in the forest, feet apart at shoulder level, arms and spine completely relaxed as he finally decided, "I shall have the right to refuse the answer to any specific question."

The wizard couldn't help but exhale loudly; it was more than he had hoped for, "Excellent." He quickly casted a privacy ward around them. "Under-aged magic can't be detected at magical buildings," he explained hastily when he saw his guard's eyes narrow.

The Boy-Who-Lived sorted his thoughts, deciding where exactly he should start. The previous night, he had overheard, with the Extendable Ears of course, two Order members discussing the confrontation between Dumbledore and the ninjas. The hired guards were still grumbling about the lack of intelligence, and Dumbledore was apparently trying to convince them to join the side of the Light, as their power could sway the tide of the war. They had refused, saying that they would only work on further orders from their 'Hokage', who they suggested was already anxious to have them finish this favor and return home, isolating themselves once again. Dumbledore then began to hint of knowing a relative of Neji and Hinata, and the Order members discussed what Neji Hyuuga's apprehensive reaction could mean. It seemed as though the teenager, veins bulging around his eyes and hands glowing, was ready to attack the Headmaster, some quick words from Hinata had Neji storming out of the meeting and left everyone wishing they understood Japanese. These developments made Harry question the real relationship between the two sides. Could Dumbledore actually be threatening his employees? It couldn't be possible… he's the Headmaster, the leader of the Order, right?

"Potter-san?"

"Right," Harry jerked up, "sorry." Rubbing his head, he asked, "I thought that you would be at Malfoy's party. Why didn't you go?"

Shikamaru turned to the side and rubbed his temples, "Mendokuse. We received an invitation, which we gratefully thanked them for, but politely turned down, as is expected in diplomacy." The pony-tail boy continued irritably when Harry opened his mouth to reply, "Did you really think that we would socialize with a family that is nearly as publicly against your well-being as they can be, when the mission we were charged with clearly stated to protect you?"

No answer, Harry felt belittled. "No," the other continued, still staring at Harry, "of course you would think that, because we haven't sworn absolute loyalty to you or your Headmaster." Shikamaru sighed, seemingly more tired than before. "We might do things differently than wizards, but ninjas have the highest respect for employer-client trust, and we will do everything to retain the confidence of everyone we serve. If you must know, Neji and Naruto are at the party, but are more or less sticking to the shadows to gather information."

They were spying on the Malfoys? "Bu-"

"I admit that we might have 'gone too far' while fulfilling some of our duties, as McGonagall-san has claimed, but how we dealt with Malfoy in the Great Hall is our usual way of dealing with threats." He and Harry both grimaced at the memory of the ninjas threatening to attack the pureblood heir, though, for different reasons. Kami, what a disaster that turned into. "But this is an unranked mission, so the parameters are different from what we are used to. We tend to order our client to adhere to a specific set of instructions, but you want our business to be your business, while we know next to nothing about your world, political storm and all. Not to mention our Hokage was forced into this agreement against her will."

"Against her will?" he parroted, confused.

"I don't know the full extent of the blackmail," the Nara said frustrated, "but there are political currents that I can't figure out." Dumbledore blackmailed them? Impossible. The wizard, leader of the Light, looked up to by two thirds of the magical population as a figure of supreme good and power, could not resort to something as low as … blackmail. The information was surprising and Harry tucked it aside to mull over later.

"What about that conversation between Naruto and Neji? Are you planning to harm the students and go to the Department of Mysteries?" he dared to question, his hand fingering his wand.

A long silence stretched out between them, Shikamaru seemed to continue his inner debate and muttered, "Bakayarou." Harry didn't need to speak the language to recognize cursing. A slight tick mark developed along the ninja's hairline, "The contract is dangerously close to being breached. The Ministry has detained one of our own for years and has been trying to discover their secrets. Ninja die before revealing their secrets. Naruto likes to entertain rather absurd ideas; the plot you overheard won't be implemented."

"The other Hyuuga?" Harry blurted out.

The room's temperature dropped a few degrees. "Well, you seem to be aware of the situation."

He quickly backtracked at the cool tone, "I overheard yesterday."

"No doubt," the comment was dripping in sarcasm as Shikamaru stepped forward menacingly.

"Look, it's not what it looks like. I-"

Shikamaru pinned Harry with sharp stare, one that sent Aragog's spawn down his spine, "It's never what it looks like, and this is the source of all these misunderstandings. You wizards are too nosy for your own good. I suspect there will be another incident to further prove my point. You are also too hot-headed. I am unsure whether this trait is found only in your immediate family, or if the phenomenon extends to the entire Magical community." His voice was haughty, reminding Harry of how Lucius Malfoy addressed Mr. Weasley.

"I'm not-"

"Yes. You. Are."

Hearing the pause between each word, Harry clicked his mouth shut, fuming inwardly. "The last time you spoke with Naruto, you accused him of being a traitor, when you you only had assumptions based on one eaves-dropped conversation. Do you have any idea what you implied?" The wizard mutely shook his head, Shikamaru stared off into space, lost in a memory, his voice took on a trance-like quality, "When we were thirteen, Naruto's best friend betrayed our village to run off to the enemy in a bid for power. I won't explain the details, but fighting to get him back, Naruto and his friend exchanged blows. Naruto almost died. We brought back the traitor, but things were never the same again. Calling him a traitor is the worst insult you could come up with."

Harry's heart felt heavy. Naruto was hurt by his best friend? He couldn't imagine Ron ever betraying him. No wonder the blond was so incensed. Ashamed and chastised, Harry didn't meet the other's eyes, but scrutinized the tile patterns. "…I only wanted to know."

"Why?"

A small flame of irritation festered. "No one will tell me anything, and it's my duty to help defeat Voldemort. When I first heard ninjas were coming, I was excited because I thought that we could help each other, exchange information. Stuff that you guys keep complaining that you don't have. You could've just asked me, I would have told you guys everything I knew, but no, I'm still kept in the dark!" By the last sentence, Harry was nearly shouting, his words coming out hostile and fast. He took several shaky breaths, looking marginally abashed at his tirade.

After a long pause, Shikamaru, sized Harry up, and replied, "Then, we will invite you- and only you- to one of our meetings. Monday, when we're back at the castle, if the information isn't time-sensitive, I will meet you at ten outside the portrait of the Fat Lady and take you to our rooms; we'll see how it works out. Do not tell anyone else, not even your friends."

Harry felt his jaw drop at the invitation. It wasn't anywhere near a direct we-were-wrong admission and apology, but the ninjas did identify with his problems. He wondered why the adults, namely Dumbledore, were letting them grope along in the dark. But this might be the change he was looking for, he would have a source of information, he would have help in this endeavor and not need to put his friends in danger. As Shikamaru melted back into the shadows, Harry undid the privacy charm and walked out of the bathroom in high spirits, like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Things were looking up.

_Chapter Twenty-four: Occlumency_

"What is _he_ doing here?" Naruto glared at Harry as he walked into the room with his head held high. Hinata offered a smile and Neji pretended that he wasn't there.

" We'll be helping each other for now," Shikamaru appeared behind the doorway, snaking by the Boy-Who-Lived and sat down on the floor. Harry cautiously mimicked him and took the spot by Hinata; he didn't realize the extent of hatred Naruto harbored for him. " It will be to our benefit if we worked together. Our village's prosperity is based on teamwork. We'll begin to trade information, but first, your report, Naruto."

Visibly deflating, and exchanging nods with Neji, Naruto began his report and punctuated parts with violent arm motions. "It was easy to get in since the barriers accepted our letters. We made a genjutsu cover us and stuck to the ceilings to listen." His face darkened, "Most conversations were trivial. But then we got to three people, Malfoy Lucius, Bagnold Millicent, and that leader, Fudge Cornelius."

"Millicent Bagnold was the previous Minister of Magic," Harry muttered, listening intently.

After sparing a brief glance in the wizard's direction, Naruto continued, "They were talking about us. Bagnold-san advised against angering us and to leave us alone. Fudge-san wants to exploit us and plans to have us arrested on some charges to cart us off to…" The blond gave Harry an uneasy look as he trailed off.

"He knows, I told him."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Ok, ok, fine. Cart us off to where they are keeping Hyuuga Michi and observe our large 'magic' coils." Neji snarled softly, and the blond patted him on the shoulder as he tossed a scroll to his leader. "They mentioned Dumbledore-san as one of the planners, too. Their code for it is their program to further magical medical research for the Magical community. The wizards don't see us anything more than commodities. The full transcript is in here, I think I covered the general idea."

Their team captain scanned the contents, paled, and groaned, "Everything is too political. Was there anything else besides the mention of Hyuuga-san in the Department of Mysteries?" The blond shook his head.

"The Department of Mysteries? In the Ministry of Magic?" the wizard added in inquiringly.

"What do you know about it, Potter-san?" Neji asked him.

"Just an hour ago," Harry paused and frowned, trying to remember and then restarted his explanation. "Well, I can feel Voldemort whenever he feels strong emotions- happiness, anger, hate, and the likes. Usually my dreams are about a dark corridor and the door at the end, but it usually never finishes. Voldemort was really happy about it just an hour ago." It was refreshing, but odd, when none of the ninjas flinched at the taboo name. "That corridor is in the Department of Mysteries. I found out when I was with Snape for my Occlumency lessons, since I need to learn to block Voldemort out of my mind."

"How would you do that?" Hinata asked.

Rubbing his temples, Harry felt the tell-tale signs of a coming headache, "Supposedly, I'm to blank my mind, push him out, while clearing all my thoughts of anything I don't want him to know. Snape uses Legilimency to keep invading my mind and see my memories." He smiled ruefully, "I think that he sorts through them to find the most embarrassing ones to taunt me with. It should be a good incentive, but he's never given me the chance to really prepare. After the lesson, he told me to, and I quote, 'rid my mind of all emotion every night before sleep- empty it, make it blank and calm'. But he didn't tell me how." He looked up and realized that everyone was giving him horrified glances, "Err, is everything alright?"

"Snape-san invades your mind, and the other adults allow it?" Naruto blanched, "Like Ibiki and the Yamanakas? Like ANBU T&I?"

"Who?"

"Would that be the only way to create mind barriers?" Shikamaru mused, scratching his cheek. "No one at home would be willing to try it. I think I might die before allowing Ino to do the same thing to me. She's have a field day, and it's said that her father has a sadistic streak from Konoha to Suna."

"I think there should b-be better ways to do this," Hinata said to her leader, "but the theory, I think, works. If you are repeatedly i-invaded, then after the night, you would develop some barriers; each new session would test them out, and then k-keep fortifying them. It makes you more sensitive to your i-inner psyche and easier to throw out an intrusion." Harry blinked at the ninjas' thoughts on his situation. He never thought that they would be so… what would be the word? Immediate? Helpful? Professional? They had apparently pushed their distaste of him aside and were acting like he was one of the group.

"If Snape is going to be walking through Potter-san's mind, isn't it a bad idea to invite him then?" The male Hyuuga asked sharply, gesturing in his general direction.

"Too late now, eh?" Naruto laughed sardonically at the situation and leaned back against the bed. "Now the only way to get around that is to have Potter-san learn this Occlu-thing by his next lesson." He pinned Harry with a predatory look and grinned.

"Or, push this event so far back that Snape-san will only see the useless, daily stuff." Shikamaru tapped his head and crossed his legs, "That's actually a good idea- clutter up your head until he had no choice but to sort through the mess. But Inoichi could always… hmmm." The team leader sighed and folded his arms.

"That's not the proper way of doing it, Shika-kun," Naruto countered as he swatted the air. "I remember when Potter-san was being tortured by Umbridge-san! He had his hand repeatedly cut and he kept doing it, remember?" Everyone in the room nodded sagely, and Harry unconsciously tried to shield the scars under his sleeve. "I watched: his face was completely blank. You cleared your mind from the pain, your emotions were shoved away in a small corner and you bore it with no wince whatsoever, even when it started dripping with blood." Blue eyes met green. "That's Occlu-jutsu, right?"

That was true. He had willed himself not to act upon his own emotions, and instead suppressed them. "I'll try," he acquiesced, "but I'm not sure it it'll work."

"The method could be a combination of cluttering your mind and hiding the r-real memories from Snape-san," Hinata said, picking at the linen between her hands.

"It'll work only if you work hard," Neji said dismissively. "The only question is if you will put in the effort."

Harry glared heatedly. "I do work hard," he argued to salvage his pride.

"No you don't," Neji retorted.

"How do you know!"

"Uh, ninja?", Naruto said, pointing at Neji, in a tone that spoke of the obvious and shrugged, not in the least bit ashamed. "Neji checked your files, you are our client."

"Doesn't even matter, it makes up for what your friends did, pawing through our belongings without permission," Neji muttered. "There could have been traps that killed you. What are we supposed to do to get some respect? Is it because of our age?"

"We never went through your stuff! Why would we want to?" Harry yelled, leaning forward, hands itching for a fight.

"My apologies. I meant, 'you' as in 'you in proxy'. Since they are your friends." Neji eyed him, unruffled. The two of them had a showdown of wills before Harry looked away, growling under his breath. Had Ron and Hermione, the Weasleys, or the Order disregarded the fundamental rules of privacy? He hadn't heard about someone planning on going through the ninjas' things. "In your files, your work ethic seems to be extremely lacking. Most professors stated that you have so much potential but are too lazy to practice and put effort into your studies."

"Which is strange," Naruto interjected, now twirling a weapon around his finger in a bored manner, "because you're in a war, you say it yourself, but you're not preparing."

"Your parent's were geniuses in their lines of work: your mother in your cooking class and charming class, and your father in the transfiguring class," Neji murmured disdainfully. "You're wasting your lineage's gifts."

Dumbfounded, Harry couldn't regain his footing after the abrupt change in subject. The advice the ninjas had given him for his Occlumency lessons was certainly worth trying, and would give him something to tell Hermione if she started to nag him about practicing. And one moment, it seemed that his guards had a right to be angry about 'nosy wizards,' while the next, they were berating him for his study habits. Sure, he got mediocre marks, even before Hogwarts, since he always managed to get locked in the cupboard if he got higher scores than Dudley Not for the first time, he wondered in exactly what sort of light his companions viewed him in. "Troublesome. We're getting off topic," Shikamaru announced, bringing Harry back to reality. The room regained its serious air. "Potter-san, what do you know about the Department of Mysteries?"

Mentally sighing, Harry scratched the back of his neck. "I saw them at my Occlumency lesson and asked about it. Snape looked like he didn't want to talk about it, and told me to forget about it."

"Which means that it is something important," Naruto finished.

"Yeah. I already told my friends, but I think that a weapon Voldemort is after is in there somewhere. I mean, after the whole Sturgis Podmore fiasco played out in the Daily Prophet, it seems likely," when the others nodded at this, Harry continued. "The people who work at the Department are called 'Unspeakables' because they won't discuss their work, it being top secret ministry stuff and all. But Dumbledore knows about it the weapon, so he had people guarding the place, like Arthur Weasley, but he was attacked. The Order of the Phoenix was to guard that weapon, but no one will say what it is. That's why … And now he's ... St. Mungo's…" He grew steadily more incoherent as the gazes on him grew more intense.

Outside, an owl hooted twice. Neji crossed his arms and muttered something under his breath. Hinata admonished him in Japanese.

As soon as Potter left with Naruto, to be escorted back to his dorm, Shikamaru turned to the rest of his group, "_What do you think?_"

OoO

"_Everything is about the Department of Mysteries: the wizards' weapon, Potter-san's dreams, and Hyuuga Michi..._" Neji rolled the information around in his mind, trying to make sense of it. "_Hazarding a guess, I say that the Department is a research facility of various secrets of the highest security. But did you mean this meeting? We received important information that we could only have guessed at before; we should do it more often if Potter-san doesn't reveal everything to Snape-san."_

"_Better than what I thought might happen; that you would d-descend into a brawl of sorts,_" Hinata remarked, scribbling notes as she consulted a wizard medical journal given to her by the school nurse.

The portrait opened and closed to the right of her, Naruto stepped through humming to himself. "_He apologized," _he breezily informed his comrades. "_What he said about traitors at the magic hospital. He took it all back."_

Neji folded his arms and disbelievingly said, "_Just like that? You forgive him?_"

"_Of course. He apologized._"

The branch Hyuuga sighed and shook his head at his teammate.

_Chapter Twenty-five: The Beetle at Bay_

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN

MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT"

FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

Shikamaru came into Great Hall sticking to the shadows, hoping to take a mini-nap before the influx of hungry students for breakfast rushed in, only to have the morning headlines shoved in his face. There were ten black-and-white photographs, nine men and one woman. Some of the people in the photos were silently jeering; others were tapping their fingers on the frame of their pictures, looking insolent. His eyes landed on Bellatrix Lestrange's mug shot, the woman looked unkempt and unclean with her dark hair in disarray. She had heavily lidded eyes, and an arrogant, disdainful smile on the corners of her thin mouth, but she still managed to maintain a shadow of the beauty she once was.

Fox Forty-seven peered around the newspaper, and tried to gauge his leader's expression. The two of them were perched on top of the tapestries decorating the Great Hall, hidden by a genjutsu closest to the Slytherin side table. The owls that were bringing The Daily Prophet were shooed carelessly away as soon as they dropped their delivery. Most of the students at the table looked unconcerned, even pleased, though some looked up from their breakfast when they heard a loud gasp on the other side of the room. Realizing it came from Hermione Granger, they sneered at her and went back to their business. "_What do you suppose this means?_" the clone asked.

Kneading his temples, the Nara heir groused, "_Troublesome. The enemy is moving faster now, but I'm worried about public opinion." _His observation shifted from the Slytherins to the Ravenclaws, who were reading the newspaper with raised eyebrows. Many pushed their plates aside to write a quick message to hand to the owls, and Shikamaru turned to the Hufflepuffs who were looking amongst themselves with wary expressions. Some turned and stared at Potter-san for a while before returning to their meal.

The clone's earpiece cracked, "_Fox Fourteen to Forty-seven, did you received what I heard from the Ravens via seal? Over."_

"_Copy that, over."_ Fox Forty-seven looked over at Shikamaru, "_You get all that?" _There was a grunt of assent.

At the Gryffindor table, Hermione Granger leaped to her feet, swung her bag over her shoulder, made a remark to the neighboring students and strolled out of the Hall with a determined expression on her face. Naruto sighed, "_I'll follow her, and have Fifty-one cover the two boys. Ja ne."_ With a few hand seals, he was gone in a shunshin. A stray leaf fell into Shikamaru's hair, but he was too lazy to pick it out.

OoO

"Legilimens!" Snape mercilessly leafed through Potter's memories and groaned to himself; he saw nearly no improvement: the dark corridor and the end of the tunnel, the secret meetings for DADA away from the Ministry woman, the fight with the ninjas at St. Mungo's, Cedric's death… the usual. Except he sensed something a bit out of the ordinary, a small shift that he would not have caught if he hadn't been training Potter in Occlumency for so long. The boy's mind was still full to the brim with utter trash, but the trash was impeccably and randomly littered about. The memories were too random.

Like they were surface memories trying to conceal more vital information. Severus didn't really know what to think about this development, as he was loath to have any sort of confidence in the spoiled brat's abilities or change his perceptions. Instead, he dug deeper, only managing to hit a memory of a cupboard on rewind, over and over and over again. Getting shoved into a cupboard, sleeping in a cupboard, crying in the cupboard, the list went on. Again, his actions yielded nothing useful.

Dumbledore, who had ordered him to figure out the reason for incessant memories of a cupboard and of nothing else, namely, of his friends, the Magical World, his schooling, and Voldemort, would not be pleased. The plan to teach Potter Occlumency was a way to soften up his mental barriers and become more susceptible to the Dark Lord. They really hoped the monster would take the bait ultimately; it would be too tantalizing to resist.

Public opinion in favor of Dumbledore, the brat, and everyone associated with them, had been deteriorating and the Order of the Phoenix was garnering less and less public support. This couldn't go on; they needed the Dark Lord to make a move soon. Potter was having more and more visions of the path to the Hall of Prophecies which was a good sign of an increased link to the Dark Lord's mind, but he would have to bring it up soon so he could be compelled into doing something reckless; the brat was at least a master in that.

In actuality, Snape vehemently disagreed to the plan, his wizard-bond with Lily thrumming in disapproval. But in the end, he had no choice, as his wizard-debt with Dumbledore overrode the wizard-bond. Of course, this method of teaching Occlumency was legal and could be very effective, but mentors tended to switch tactics if after a week the side-effects outweighed the improvements.

He casted a wary glance at the blond ninja sitting in a corner, examining the lesson interestedly, and wondered how much the foreigners knew. That boy, Naruto Uzumaki, had blue eyes that could see things, through people and lies. For the nth time, the potion master cursed the Headmaster for allowing ninjas, of all people, to get caught up in their problems. Mr. Uzumaki had probably already killed more people in the name of money than he had in his Death Eater days. The blond boy's gaze moved from Potter to him, and he grinned like an excited toddler. Severus wasn't fooled by the deception and sneered at the insolent boy and returned to his lesson, watching a memory of Petunia, again, and yell about her precious whale of a son.

He stopped the attack and glared at the sniveling mass of James' spawn lying on the ground and sneered, "Obviously you disregarded my instructions and have decided that you are too good for the advice of authorities in the field of Occlumency." Potter tilted his head up and glared back, an insult on the tip of his tongue, but stayed silent. Severus was oddly disappointed, until the vision of a redhead with those same, vibrant green eyes stared accusingly at him. He tried his best to ignore it. In the corner, a slight, uninterpretable snort came from the ninja.

Dumbledore was growing more and more worried about the ninjas. Sooner or later, he would want to interrogate them; and not the flimsy imitation that was acceptable to society at large, but the full treatment- what muggles thought belonged to the Spanish Inquisition. It would be very soon. Snape hoped he wouldn't be involved, the childhood stories his mother had told him about ninjas still fueled his lingering fears of pushing them too far. Even if they were young enough to be his children. "Dangerous… self-serving… powerful…"

He tucked his personal memories into his pensive and turned to face the brat, who was now standing tried to ignore the laughing blue eyes in the corner. An odd inkling grew inside of him, Uzumaki seemed to be attached to him, in a way completely different than his steadfast protection of Potter ... but why? Did he know? Snape pointed his wand again, "Legilimens!"

_Chapter Twenty-six: Seen and Unforseen_

Neji read the notice boards in a relatively quiet area, "Any student found in possession of the magazine _The Quibbler_ will be expelled." That was it, in the old game of politics, if propaganda doesn't agree with the person in power, get rid of the propaganda. Though in this case, as he remembered more and more of the banned magazine now appeared as innocent school books and parchments, it seemed Umbridge had forgotten a major ingredient of information control- reverse psychology. The Order of the 'High Inquisitor' encouraged people to read Potter's interview.

The interview: a day when he had to do a day shift and watch over the boy's disastrous date with that girl, Chang Cho. The teen couldn't resist snickering at the memory of the boy's horrible romantic instinct: bringing up the topic of another girl, Granger, while trying to woo the current one? Where was his tact? And then Potter ran off with Granger to talk to the reporter and the blonde Lovegood girl who Naruto was fond of. And now, _The Quibbler_, was finally published. From his cloak pocket, he unrolled the article and read the headline:

HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:

THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED

AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN

Umbridge deserved everything that was going to come at her, the ugly toad…

A couple of Ravenclaw fourth years turned into his corridor, and, upon seeing him, they froze in mid-chatter. One of them whispered and pointed at him and two others nodded. Neji turned and directed minute killing intent at them until they squeaked and ran off. They were all children, and he hated children. He hated Hogwarts, he hated wizards, he hated wizarding politics, and he hated having to take the day shift which caused his circadian rhythm to become abnormal. He wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

"_Hello Hyuuga-san_." Neji sensed the presence before she spoke, it was Lovegood.

For Naruto, he would tolerate her, "_Hello. Are you pleased with your article?"_

The aura she gave off indicated that she wasn't all there, but she spoke pleasantly and in Japanese, "_Daddy's already reprinting; the demand for them has been a record in our family. This should help Harry. More and more people are looking at him in a new light. The Ministry and Professor Umbridge are trying to stop the circulation but the resistance is growing. I've been in detention a lot because of it."_

He immediately looked down at her bandaged right hand, "_Do you need my cousin to look at it?"_

"_No,"_ she smiled serenely and hid her hand behind her back. "_The frequency of my detentions are already starting to lessen and it doesn't hurt once the wrackspurts block the pain. Professor Umbridge has given up on me and Flitwick is complaining too much. It makes me wonder if McGonagall had complained about Harry at all." _Neji raised a single brow, something else to ponder about- lack of teacher participation against the threat. "_It doesn't matter much. Other students are also getting caught because they're reading _The Quibbler_ and they're in detention with me with the same punishment. Word is going around that Professor is illegally using a Blood Quill, it'll only be a matter of time. The Ministry can only hide for so long and bribe a finite number of people." _The ninja looked in half-concealed awe at the words that contrasted so differently with the spaced out expression that the girl adopted.

"_I see. Good job, Lovegood-san."_

"_Please call me Luna. Bye Hyuuga-kun." _She bowed and skipped away.

OoO

Tonks looked at her report about the ninjas and sighed. This was going against her every moral fiber, and she liked snooping! But only against enemies, and these foreigners were helping them, right? But suddenly, Dumbledore asked Bill and her to go through the shinobi's belongings and to find anything that held vital information. The Headmaster was notably vague when questioned what defined 'vital.' It took Bill three days at Grimmauld Place to finally undo the blood seals, wards, and protection spells on the luggage, several that nearly backfired on him. When they opened the lid, Tonks immediately had to duck at the barrage of knives that came flying out.

But inside was a treasure trove of information: scrolls laying out Wizarding politics like a chess game, with multiple scenarios written down, scrolls of the activity within Hogwarts, Harry Potter's progress, his friends, his enemies, his schools- including muggle, his interests, and those were only the scrolls that mentioned wizards, which she and Bill had decided was their criteria for being vital. Tonks began to wonder whether the foreigners knew the Boy-Who-Lived better than any Order member, barring Dumbledore. Of course, what was on the scrolls were mere speculation; translation spells were iffy at best, nobody had a good enough grasp of the complicated Japanese written language to get the full detail.

Bill opened up more compartments to find clothes, mementos and more sharp weapons- thankfully not of the projectile kind, but pretty useless to them. And then he found the staves, and both her and Bill's jaws had dropped to the floor. Staves were designed specifically for special people, like Merlin and Morgana and Circe and apparently the ninjas, whose magical core was too big to focus with just a measly wand.

Tonks tapped her quill against the parchment and then against her chin, leaving a black splotch, as she thought: the fact that the shinobis had staves didn't necessarily mean that they were really good with magic. Bigger magical cores meant less control, and after all, the shinobis had just been introduced to a medium through which to pull their magic. Then again, the few reports they had from about the Ninja Continent said that they are better at wandless magic than anything. And she had seen the proof, the bloody proof in those Death Eaters' bodies. She shook her head; sure, she trusted them for some reason, but they knew nothing about their allies, what was wrong with them?

And then there was that stack of seals, demon supressing seals Bill had said. Something about a nine-tailed elemental demon named the Kyuubi. But what made no sense were the orders attached to the seals, and though the translation had bad grammar, they were unmistakable, "To used only in dire case on human prison sacrifice to Nine-tails demon, Uzumaki Naruto."

The thought that Naruto carried a demon inside him ... somewhere, a demon so powerful that the only references they could find warned of chaos and destruction incarnate, was horrifying.

The ninjas probably thought it was the students who had gone through their stuff and had no idea their scrolls had been found. Tonks went back to finishing her report and thanked Merlin the ninjas hadn't confronted her about it. She told herself that it was only an investigation, that it was all, to quote Dumbledore, "For the greater good."

OoO

"Perhaps," said Snape, his dark, cold eyes narrowing slightly, "perhaps you actually enjoy having these visions and dreams, Potter. Maybe they make you feel special- important?"

"No they don't," said Harry, his jaw set and his fingers clenched tightly around his wand. On the inside, beneath all of his shallow emotions, he was pleased he had managed to hide the ninja meetings from the greasy git. After Naruto realized that nothing about the rendezvous had been revealed during his lesson, Harry found himself in the ninjas' confidences and included in more and more of their discussions.

Of course, he was always the first to leave, but he understood that. They couldn't wholly trust him, not yet, but at least they gave him information about the Order of the Pheonix and their movements. In return, he told them his visions, including a recent one of looking through Voldemort's eyes and ordering Rookwood to get more information. He saw Malfoy senior using the Imperious Curse on Bode and Bode's eventual assassination, and shared everything with the shinobi. He hadn't told anyone about the meetings, not even Hermione or Ron, and so far they didn't suspect a thing.

More often than not, the ninjas speculated what Voldemort would want in the Department of Mysteries. The facts were simple- there was a weapon, and it was important to the balance of the war, both the Light and Dark wanted it. What could it be? He feels changed after his first meeting with the shinobi. For once, he tries harder in his schoolwork, eliciting puzzled approval from Hermione and complete disbelief from Ron.

Harry looked at Snape's large nose and avoided the eyes, he wondered if the man knew and if he did, how much. "That is just as well, Potter," said Snape coldly, "because you are neither special nor important, and it is not up to you to find out what the Dark Lord is saying to his Death Eaters."

He hated Occlumency. He hated these lessons.

He was forced to watch images that were a complete violation of his privacy. Dudley trying to force him to stand inside an un-flushed toilet. Hermione ecstatic after seeing Umbridge trying to ban The Quibbler, breathing out, "Oh Harry, don't you see? If she could have done one thing to make absolutely sure that every single person in this school will read your interview, it was banning it!" His aunt calling him a freak and hitting him over the head with a hot pan. Cho giving him a swift kiss on the cheek before hurrying off. Sirius handing him a wrapped package on the Knight Bus before he departed to King's Cross.

"No- that's your job isn't it?" Harry shot at him. He had not meant to say it; it had burst out of him in the haze of temper. For a long moment they stared at each other, Harry convinced he had gone too far. But there was a curious, almost satisfied expression on Snape's face when he answered.

"Yes, Potter," he said, his eyes glinting. "That is my job. Now if you are ready, we will start again…"

Feeling a sense of foreboding, Harry wondered why he couldn't hide his dreams and visions of the corridor to the Department of Mysteries, with its blank stone walls, torches, and the black door. Was Snape specifically looking for those memories? With each vision he had, he got closer and closer to the door … so close that he could almost open it. Just one more dream and his curiosity might finally be satisfied.

Snape raised his wand, "One- two- three- Legilimens!"

OoO

Hinata had rushed into the entrance hall with an armful of herbs as soon as she heard a woman's scream. The place was packed with murmuring students who were craning their necks to see what was happening. A few shot her curious glances, but it seemed the unfolding events took more of their attention; she was grateful. Some had crammed onto the marble staircase. At the center, the students had made a circle, faces shocked and frightened, around Professor Trelawney and Professor Umbridge. The Hyuuga heiress frowned, she rather liked Trelawney-san. The woman was as dotty and fake as they came, but she had a good heart.

The 'Seer' had a wand in one hand and an empty bottle in the other, looking utterly insane. Her hair was unkempt and sticking up in all directions, her glasses were crooked and on the verge of falling, so that one eye was magnified more than the other, and her many scarves and shawls were thrown around her haphazardly and some were dropping to the floor. She gave the impression that she was falling apart at the seams. Two large trunks were lying on the floor beside her, one on its side and one upside down, looked as though they had been thrown down the stairs after her. Trelawney looked frightened.

On the other side, Umbridge looked like a toad who swallowed a very juicy fly.

"_Neh neh, Hinata-chan_," someone whispered by her. She turned and saw a average looking brunet boy winking at her. At his side was Lovegood-san and her faraway gaze. Something in her mind clicked.

"_N-naruto-kun? Is that you under a henge?"_ She whispered as low as she could out of the corner of her mouth. "_What's going on?_" She sensed a small False-surroundings genjutsu that wrapped itself around her. At her peripheral vision, she saw Harry-kun squeeze between a knot of tall Slytherins to get a better view, people allowed him to push through.

"_I'm Fox Fifteen_." Naruto replied just as Trelawney screamed. "_The batty old woman who smells too much like perfume and incense was just fired." _

"No! NO! This cannot be happening… It cannot… I refuse to accept it!"

The Hyuuga heiress cocked her head to her right and stared in guilty fascination. There were two girls, Brown and Patil, if she remembered the profiles correctly, holding onto each other and crying silently. More words were exchanged. Trelawney sank to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably and rocking back and forth, moaning in her grief. Professor McGonagall had broken away from the eager spectators, marched straight up to the hysterical woman and was patting her firmly on the back while withdrawing a large handkerchief from within her robes. The stern woman whispered while Trelawney blew, loud and hard, into the cloth.

"_Daddy said that Umbridge is working with the Rotfang Conspiracy to bring down the Ministry with Dark Magic and gum disease,_" Lovegood piped up with an air of importance. Hinata gave the henged nin a questioning look, who in turn shrugged and fondly patted the blonde girl on the head.

"_Is_ _there anything that can be done, Luna-chan?" _His tone of voice was totally serious.

As the girl thought long and hard, as the situation escalated when Professor Dumbledore entered the fray, preventing Trelawney from leaving. Umbridge gave an unpleasant laugh. Hinata shifted uncomfrotably, the plants still in her arms and hoped that Pomfrey-san wouldn't be too disappointed in her tardiness. In the corners where the pillars meet the ceilings, she saw Shikamaru and various Naruto-bunshins perched and hidden away. Dumbledore said something again to Umbridge and then to McGonagall, who, with Sprout, escorted Trelawney back into her quarters with Flitwick scurrying after them while floating the two trunks up the marble staircase.

"_No need to do anything, it's not my business. Dumbledore already knows about it and he'll be mad if I dig into the conspiracy any further, so says Daddy,_" Luna informed them as Dumbledore and Umbridge continued their battle of wills.

"You've found-?" said the old human toad shrilly. "_You've_ found? Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Twenty-two-"

"-the Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if- and only if- the headmaster is unable to find one," said Dumbledore. "And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?"

Sounds of hooves approached from the open doors. A shocked murmur spread like a wave though the student body around the halls and those nearest the doors hastily moved even farther backward, some of them tripping over in their haste to clear a path for the newcomer.

Hinata felt her jaw drop as she stared at the half man half horse, repeatedly pinching herself to make sure that she wasn't asleep. '_But… how… How does that happen?_' White-blond hair and astonishing blue eyes, the head and torso of a man joined the body of a light chestnut horse. Beside her, Naruto tried to force out words but he sounded like a dying cat.

"This is Firenze," said Dumbledore happily to a thunderstruck Umbridge. "I think you'll find him suitable."


	6. To Take the Initiative or Not

I've finished FireStorm; I can now heave a great sigh of relief! *…SIGH…* Well this fic is moving along swimmingly and I'm quite anxious to get it done. To hazard a guess, I would say that there will be, hmmm, seven chapters in all to this story. My interests in Harry Potter/Naruto Crossovers are starting to wane so might as well finish it before I run on empty, eh? This chapter is pretty rushed, but I'm just trying to finish it on principle. Remember, anything that I haven't written about still happened unless stated implicitly.

Thank you for reading my stories! Even if I don't reply to some of the reviews, especially when I'm certain that my responses will sound utterly retarded, know that I appreciate every compliment, criticism, and, hell, even flames because they all make my day. Don't ask how, just know that they do.

Some lines are taken from the actual book. I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.

"Speech"- English 'Thoughts'- English

"_Speech" _- Japanese _'Hand signs or thoughts'_- Japanese

Let's get moving-

_Here it is…_

**Chakra and Magic**

**Six: To Take the Initiative or Not**

_((We, ninjas, forge our own destinies.))_

_Chapter Twenty-seven: The Centaur and the Sneak_

After getting over the initial thoughts that gushed, '_Dear Kami, why aren't there any half people half animal creatures back on the continent?_' Naruto realized that meeting a Centaur wasn't something incredible. It made him remember his initial excitement when he heard that he was going to be trained by the legendary Hatake Kakashi or Jiraiya the Gama-Sennin, only to be let down when they taught him nothing but the joys of chakra control and demonic chakra control, respectively. On the other hand, the centaur, Firenze, actually made sense in his lectures, unlike the Trelawney lady. And wow, Naruto could stare at the horse-man all day; the strangeness of nature was that awesome.

Firenze gave a practical lesson on how to see the future through smoke and fire, and the plants he burned created a scent that made him sneeze and his eyes water. It was, hands down, one of the most excruciating lessons he had sat through. Next time, he would get Shikamaru to cover for him.

The only thing that stuck out during the class was Firenze's private word to Harry at the end about a project that Hagrid was keeping in the forest. Worried for his big friend, Naruto decided to send out a Kage-bunshin to investigate what the professor might mean. Fifteen minutes later, in the middle of conversing with Shikamaru in an empty classroom, Naruto's eyes glassed over. He blanched.

"_Shit, Hagrid-san has a giant for a brother._"

OoO

Naruto stuck close to the foliage of the trees as he and Neji shadowed Hagrid through the Forbidden Forest, as he went to visit the man-beast Grawp. The mission had been routine these days: through his clones, he observed the Toad-lady's group of student cronies, the students socializing and learning, the teachers teaching, Harry's friends studying for their special exams, and Harry's secret teaching class, all while he, the original, would go romping in the woods to make sure that Hagrid didn't do anything stupid with his baby brother; like feel sorry for the man-beast and free him from his bondage. The two ninjas reached a familiar and settled in for the duration of Hagrid's visit to his brother. The blond sneaked a glance at Neji, who was nonchalantly reading Luna's copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ with his Byakugan activated in dim light.

"_Mah, do we really have to do this?_" He whined under his breath as he heard Hagrid mutter reassuring words to Grawp.

"_Until Shikamaru says to stop,_" Neji flipped the page with minimal sound and effort, reminding his companion of when Kakashi-sensei would use minute thumb-flicks to turn the pages of his orange book.

Naruto sighed as Grawp swung his arms and landed a blow on the Gamekeeper. Then, one of his clones popped, making him stiffen for a split second as memories flooded into his brain. Neji looked up from his book as his partner started muttering a string of expletives under his breath and preparing to race back to the castle.

"_What's the matter?_" The Hyuuga asked, tucking away the book and mimicking Naruto's actions.

"_Potter has just been caught by the Toad-lady._"

Both of them disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

OoO

Daniel Reynolds was proud of his life, which he thought was getting along rather well. Sorted into Hufflepuff, he had gone to Hogwarts for all seven years, got relatively high scores on his N.E.W.T.s and joined the Auror corps, slowly working his way upwards, noted for his special talents in the obscure Art of Legilimency and his loyalty to authorities. And now, eight years after graduating from one of the most notable Magical Schools in the world, he was at the right side of the Minister Fudge, ready and willing to aid in any way he could. To his left side stood a dark-skinned man named Kingsley Shacklebolt and a tough-looking, short, wiry-haired man named John Dawlish. He watched impassively as Fudge, sitting at his desk with Percy Weasley standing behind him, gave them the mission parameters. "I will head to Hogwarts, personally, to investigate a message given to me by Dolores concerning a secret group formed by Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore," he spat out the names like a disease. "You three are to guard me and to assist me in arresting any threats against the Ministry, if I find any incriminating evidence."

And so they found themselves in the Headmaster's office, with Professor Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, his expression serene, the tips of his long fingers steepled together, while Professor McGonagall, stood rigidly beside him, her expression extremely tense. He twitched under the powerful gaze of the aged wizard, who seemed to pierce his very being with a sense of 'knowing.' His memories of this castle were fond and he felt as though he was doing a disservice to Hogwarts by being here.

Suddenly, former Senior Under-Secretary Umbridge strode into the room, holding tightly onto Harry Potter, who was acting like a caged animal, eyes darting, searching for any available exit. The portraits on the wall were whispering urgently into each other's ears as they watched the scene below. The Minister was rocking backward and forward on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation and glaring at the teenager with a sense of vicious satisfaction on his face. As the door swung close, Potter wrenched his arm free from Umbridge's grasp and Fudge muttered, "Well. Well, well, well…"

As events progressed in front of him, Reynolds began to distance himself from the noise, summarizing the conversation in his mind and observing the body language of the people in the office. Aurors stayed in the background; it was part of the job description. At first, Fudge looked superior but then slightly taken aback, and then placated when Umbridge led Marietta Edgecombe by the shoulder into the room. The girl was hiding her face in her hands, but with the stout lady's encouragement revealed the close-set purple pustules that had spread across her nose and cheeks to form the word 'SNEAK.' It was disgusting. Miss Edgecombe began to wail and sob.

The talk continued around the disfigured girl. All seemed to be going in Fudge's favor until the people readdressed Miss Edgecombe for extra details about this secret. Umbridge's furious screeching grated on his ears, "But there was a meeting tonight! There was a meeting, Miss Edgecombe, you told me about it, in the Room of Requirement! And Potter was the leader, was he not, Potter organized it, Potter- why are you shaking your head, girl_?_" Her last question sounded quite deadly.

"Well, usually when a person shakes their head," McGonagall said coldly, "they mean 'no,' so unless Miss Edgecombe is using a form of sign language as yet unknown to humans-"

Umbridge seized the girl, bringing her face to face, and looking like she wanted to shake her very hard. But then she paused in her actions and turned to Potter, muttering, "Nevertheless, we have you here, we can make you talk." Her face was puffed and red from anger, eyes glinting with malice, "Well, Potter, what will it be? Talk!" She lunged over with a surprising burst of speed to the boy who had his back against the wall. Marietta screamed. Dumbledore was on his feet, his wand raised…

With a burst of wind, a blond haired boy in a ratty, tanned cloak appeared in mid-air and met Umbridge using his momentum to knock the woman away. The boy landed on his feet, graceful as a feline, while Umbridge collapsed in a heap at the opposite wall, out cold. It all happened so quickly that Daniel Reynold's response was to blink as he thought, 'He must be one of those ninjas.' But in the next second, every wizard and witch, including him and excluding Potter, had his or her wand trained upon the blond, who didn't seem at all affected at the damage he had just done.

Drawing his wand out was a learned response ingrained into his mind thanks to the Auror corps, it had taken another two seconds for his brain to catch up with his body. When he finally regained his bearings, the ninja, Naruto, (Nah-Roo-Toe, he remembered from the debriefing), was yelling, "She attacked Potter-san, according to the contract, we can't allow it to happen. She had the intention of hurting him; I even sensed some killing intent coming out of her body directed to Potter-san, that's why he couldn't move! And," the ninja continued on this tangent for some time, accentuating his speech with violent hand gestures that were dispersed among his sentences.

It gave the young auror some time to study the ninja. For one, the boy couldn't be any older than the Boy-Who-Lived; he was short with messy blond hair that stuck out in all directions, similar to the infamous Potter hairstyle. Underneath the cloak were a simple orange t-shirt, cargo pants, and unique looking sandals. But with an experienced eye of someone who knew what to look for, Daniel could see that there were wiry muscles on the boy's frame, that he was in control of every single minute movement, and that his eyes darted to every shift and every slight noise. 'This boy… ninja… is not someone to take lightly.'

Fudge, unfortunately, didn't seem to notice the threat he was facing when he demanded answers and reprimanded the blond and his actions, "…disregarding any means of the law. No one can attack a Ministry employee and walk away scot-free, my boy, there are no exceptions unless you are given a full pardon by the Minister, which I do not intend to give. What you did was foolish and dangerous and I'm saddened to say that I suspect that you threaten the stability of my government, foreigner…" The portly man continued on his diatribe for some time, all the while, Percy was enthusiastically annotating every single word that his mentor said.

Potter kept a wary countenance, the Headmaster's eyes glittered, McGonagall and Naruto both looked more and more outraged as Fudge temporarily directed his arrest charges at the ninja. Reynolds stole a glance at his partners: the other aurors were stone cold statues.

"Auror Reynolds." Besides the name, Fudge didn't physically acknowledge him, "I think you need to give me a correct assessment on young Mr. Naruto Uzumaki before we take him in." Without a word, Daniel eased off the wall and stepped in front of the silent, blond boy who was mimicking a cornered animal with hackles rising and baring teeth. Fudge placed his hand on the auror's back for a split second, conveying a wordless message that was understood.

In the privacy of the high office, Cornelius Fudge had given Auror Reynolds a classified mission. If the Minister gave the correct signal, Reynolds was allow to use, as stated in the Scroll of Laws, 'with permission of the Highest Order, an Official is allowed for harmless, non-invasive entering of a subconscious.' But in that respect, it was 'non-invasive' merely because the action or mission wouldn't be showing up in any records. The young wizard stood in front of the ninja and bent down till he was eye level and latched his gaze onto the boy's. Outwardly, he was giving the infamous 'Moody-glare, inwardly, he was summoning his magic to his wand, casually gripped at his side. In his mind, he whispered, "_Legilimens_."

Nothing.

Then, he was walking through the boy's mind, only feeling slightly guilty of his illegal actions. But the esteemed Minister gave him the all-clear, and it was for the Greater Good. Fudge needed to know the ninja's secrets of their power and what the Minister wanted, the Minister got. The mind-walk shouldn't have any adverse affects on Naruto, no pain, no memories, no awareness, should everything go according to plan. The space was massive, much bigger than a normal man's mindscape but thankfully there were no illusions, false memories, or barriers. Instead, there was a sewer-like chamber that glowed with a malicious red tint; the atmosphere was heavy and dark perpetuated by a constant, ominous, rhythmic dripping. The darkness on the other side of the atrium wafted in his direction, sending out tentative feeler to assess him before retreating back. He walked towards it.

At first there wasn't anything of much note, the boy's mind seemed to be literally and metaphorically empty. But suddenly, as if the darkness parted to allow him the privilege to see, a cage loomed above him, the bars, each as thick as the trunk of a tree in the Forbidden Forest, stretching from ground to the invisible ceiling, and Daniel realized with some trepidation that this was the source of the feeling of dread, where the feeling was so condensed that there was a sort of charged red fog that seeped into the rest of the chamber.

A snarl vibrated at such a low frequency that his ribs shivered, he looked up and froze. A giant fox, no… a monster… with red fur as if it were stained with blood, black eyes from the pits of Hell, stared down at him with its mouth open, proudly displaying all its sharp teeth. The monster rumbled words in a foreign language and cackled mockingly, suddenly charging forward to the bars, making them shudder. There was too much fear and too little time to scream in terror. The auror hastily moved away but stumbled over his two feet, the red maw of the monster a couple meters from its face, so big and evil.

The monster glared at him and Reynolds felt like he was prey, helpless and defenseless, and the monster had every intention of killing him slowly, painfully, and with the sole reason being to enjoy the entertainment. The feeling was primitive, like those of man before civilization, a feeling that was instinctual to prehistoric cavemen whenever a predator was upon them. Just when he was sure that he was safe from death, nine red tails extended from cage and wrapped the man up, from head to toe. There was high-pitched laughter. He was trapped and going to die at the hands of a monster of the highest order. Daniel Reynolds felt the most incredible pain coursing through his body, like a million white hot knives piercing his skin, like ashen wind in every blood vessel, like a thousand Cruciatus curses that was unrelenting…

Then he was on the cool floor of the Headmaster's office; only a second has passed in real time since he had entered the ninja's mind. Two people were leaning over him, yelling at him, slapping his cheeks. He heard the words, "Monster… monster… monster…" chanted again and again, completely unaware that it was his own. He curled further into himself at the scream of pain from the messy-haired blond, on the ground in pain, "Kyuubi!" More people were running about, talking, barking orders, observing, treating. He remembered the black eyes, white teeth imparted into a grin, and the sureness of his messy death... A bloodthirsty creature, the mere existence of such a being caused him to nearly soil his robes. The terror he felt and the supernatural being he saw was forever imprinted onto his mind and he couldn't forget the horrible… horrible… horrible… Eyes wide and crazed, Daniel Reynolds didn't even realize the moment when his mind literally fell apart into pieces.

_Chapter Twenty-eight: Snape's Worst Memory_

Shikamaru rested his elbows to his knees as he stared at the hospital bed and it's comatose occupant, Naruto Uzumaki. "_Troublesome_," he muttered between his hands. Dumbledore had fled with his fire-bird, Naruto was constantly being guarded by Kingsley, who was, thank Kami, on Dumbledore's side, Neji had been taken into custody after trying to move Naruto to the Infirmary on charges of being an accessory to terror by the Minister, and there was nothing Shikamaru or Hinata could do about it. Their link to Tsunade-sama was temporarily unavailable; there were no other means they could use to communicate. Even with the lack of updates, he knew that the Godaime wouldn't send more forces and could wait up until a point, depending on her judgment, before declaring them all MIA.

The only possible reason Neji was taken was, undoubtedly because of the situation with Hyuuga Michi. Perhaps the wizards holding Hyuuga Michi were unable to discern the Byakugan and the secret abilities of ninjas, and had decided that Hyuuga Neji would prove a younger and easier subject to study. The only reassuring fact about this whole business, was the knowledge that Neji would not be severely maimed or killed as Wizarding Britain was smart enough to know that they did not want to be caught in the middle of an international scandal. The Nara heir sighed again, '_Who knew democratic government could be so annoying?_' Minister Fudge had claimed ignorance of the wizard with a Yamanaka's abilities, who was carted off to St. Mungo's still muttering under his breath, but nonetheless, an intrusion was an intrusion, and there must be a reason behind the action.

And once again, everything traced back to the Ministry of Magic, Hyuuga Michi, and the place she was being held, the Department of Mysteries. It had to be the reason why wizards were so curious about shinobis, it was the only explanation. '_These magic people always thought of themselves superior to ninjas. They might not say it out loud, but their body language implies their opinions, but we've presented them with the cold reality,_' Shikamaru thought grimly, lacing his fingers together to support his chin, '_and now both sides are suspicious. They don't know what's in Naruto's mind and they're too scared to find out. And we don't know what's wrong with Naruto. This is too troublesome_.'

"_Can anything be done?_" Hinata asked him.

He eyed the black wizard, Kingsley, with a suspicion. The man was stoic and alert, but did not show any sign of comprehension. The lazy ninja remembered the spells that had hit Neji before he went down, spells to paralyze, freeze, stun, and bind. "…_No. For now, we must wait._" Hopefully when Naruto woke, Kingsley would keep it silent from his bosses.

OoO

Nobody in the school dared to mention the sudden disappearance of the foreigners, fearing being on the receiving end of either Umbridge or Harry's wrath. Fortunately for the students, both the Professor, though now Headmistress and student were the former's office. Harry forced his arms to uncross, trying not to look even slightly intimidated; the day hadn't gone well for him at all. After realizing Malfoy was in the Toad's favor, not to mention part of her handpicked Inquisitorial Squad, his mood had plummeted like it had jumped off the Astronomy Tower. Understanding that the little ferret now had the power to deduct as many House points as he chose, made him feel worse.

The boy stared at the large wooden name-plate lying across the front of Umbridge's desk, on which golden letters spelled the word HEADMISTRESS. He also saw his Firebolt, and Fred's and George's Cleansweeps, were now chained and padlocked to a stout iron peg in the wall behind the desk. Under the toad-woman's gaze, he pretended to repeatedly drink from the tea cup. He lowered the cup underneath the desk and poured some of the liquid onto his hand and allowed it to drip down his hand and stain the desk and his chair. He then wiped his wet hand onto his robe, eyes bright with suspicion. Umbridge's smile widened.

"I don't know," he said a little too quickly, when she inquired Sirius's whereabouts.

"Mr. Potter," said Umbridge sweetly, "let me remind you that it was I who almost caught the criminal Black in the Gryffindor fire in October. I know perfectly well it was you he was meeting and if I had had any proof neither of you would be at large today, I promise you. I repeat, Mr. Potter… Where is Sirius Black?"

"No idea," said Harry loudly. "Haven't got a clue.

They stared at each other so long that Harry felt his eyes watering. The Boy-Who-Lived found something fundamentally wrong with her response to her knowledge. Sirius was known as a mass murderer but she treated his Godfather like he wasn't aiding Voldemort, but on Harry's side. 'She knew.' His thoughts insisted, 'I don't know who else, but at least she knew that Sirius was innocent and didn't betray my parents. Then what is she doing with the knowledge?' Suddenly she stood up.

"Very well, Potter, I will take your word for it this time, but be warned: the might of the Ministry stands behind me. Your ninja bodyguards are under watch at all times by those who have proven themselves trustworthy. All channels of communication in and out of this school are being monitored. A Floo Network Regulator is keeping watch over every fire in Hogwarts- except my own, of course. My Inquisitorial Squad is opening and reading all owl post entering and leaving the castle. And Mr. Filch is observing all secret passages in and out of the castle. If I find a shred of evidence…"

_BOOM!_

OoO

Pandemonium reigned. Somebody had set of what seemed to be an enormous crate of enchanted fireworks. Dragons comprised entirely of green-and-gold sparks were soaring up and down the corridors, emitting loud, fiery blasts and bangs as they went, like a well-created Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu, but with more color. "Sugoi…" Hinata breathed in awe as she witnessed shocking-pink Catherine wheels whizzing lethally through the air, like so many flying saucers. Rockets with long tails of brilliant silver stars were ricocheting off the walls; sparklers were writing English swearwords in midair of their own accord. Firecrackers were like unstable exploding tags and the sight seemed to be gaining in energy and momentum as time went by.

A smaller pyramid rocket zipped past her waist, circling around her three times until she patted it gently on the tip, before zipping off. The Hyuuga saw one of the larger Catherine wheels whirl toward Umbridge and the old care-taker, Filch, with a sinister _wheeeeeeeee. _Both adults yelled with fright and ducked as it soared straight out of the window behind them and off across the grounds. Meanwhile, several of the dragons and a large purple bat that was smoking ominously took advantage of the open door at the end of the corridor to escape toward the second floor. Seconds later, there were screams and even hints of laughter.

Hinata giggled behind her hand as she saw the horrid toad-lady shoot a red spell (one that had hit Neji-kun before _they_ took him away) at one of the rockets. Instead of freezing in midair, it exploded with such force that it blasted a hole in a painting of a soppy-looking witch in a meadow— she ran for it in time, reappearing seconds later squashed into the painting next door, where a couple of wizards playing cards stood up hastily to make room for her.

The heiress stood up from her vantage point above the shelter Brown Lavender was in and dusted her shirt. Ever since Neji was taken and Naruto was unable to awake, she had been feeling depressed. But now she had a bright smile on her face, feeling happy once again, if only temporarily.

OoO

Guilt weighed Harry James Potter down to the deepest dungeons of Hogwarts. It was his fault that Neji Hyuuga was taken, his fault that Naruto was in a coma, his fault that Dumbledore was on the run and his fault that Umbridge was now Headmistress of Hogwarts. His remaining bodyguards didn't seem to blame him, but they took pains to avoid meeting him. He couldn't find any chance to talk to them, to apologize, to ... he didn't know exactly. Well, the rest of the school had been ostracizing Marietta Edgecombe completely. His relationship with Snape, the very frail one that formed when the Professor had given him the potion for his wounds from detentions with Umbridge, had soured completely. A niggling voice at the back of his mind hissed that Snape had been easy on him in his previous Occlumency lessons, thought not by much, and had known that Harry was bringing out the useless memories to act as a barrier against his more precious memories.

Unfortunately, that was not the point of the lessons. Occlumency is was meant to help clear the mind, not to clutter it. One could still push through and take the information one wanted from a cluttered mind. The Boy-Who-Lived fingered his wand, as he watched Malfoy follow the man out of the dungeons. 'Imagine that, Malfoy actually helped me narrowly escape by giving me twenty-four more hours of respite. Though now I know he's going to tell the whole school that I need Remedial Potions…'

He was at the office door when he saw it: a patch of shivering light dancing on the door frame. He stopped, looking at it, reminded of something… Then he remembered: it was a little like the lights he had seen in his dream last night, the lights in the second room he had walked through on his journey through the Department of Mysteries.

He turned around. The light was coming from the Pensieve sitting on Snape's desk.

_Chapter Twenty-nine: Career Advice_

At the end of the Potions lesson, Harry scooped some of the Invigoration Draught into a flask, corked it, and took it up to Snape's desk for marking, feeling that with all the studying for O.W.L.s that made his head ache every night, he might have at last scraped an O.

He had just turned away when he heard the sound of glass breaking; Malfoy gave a gleeful yell of laughter. Harry whipped around again. His potion sample lay in pieces on the floor, and Snape was surveying him with a look of gloating pleasure.

"Whoops," he said softly. "Another zero, then, Potter…"

'He's only mad because I intruded upon his privacy, because I saw his most embarrassing moment as a Hogwarts student.' Even with his reasoning, Harry was too incensed to speak. He strode back to his cauldron, intending to fill another flask and force Snape to mark it, but saw to his horror that the rest of the contents had vanished.

"I'm sorry!" said Hermione with her hands over his mouth. "I'm really sorry, Harry, I thought you'd finished, so I cleared up!"

Harry could not bring himself to answer.

OoO

'_Malfoy is becoming more and more persistent as he grows confident in his powers,_' Hinata mused as he sauntered into the Hospital Wing with two obese boys at his sides, for the fifth time in three days, as she began clearing up her station and the first year scrambled out of the doors. '_Or maybe because I'm alone and it's been a while since he's been exposed to a ninja's skill._'

Whatever the case was, the blond wizard had, again, extended an invitation to work for the Dark Lord or more closely to the Malfoy Clan, and had, again, turned bright red as she demurely refused his hand. Only this time, he and his two guards whipped out their sticks… wands… and yelled out their incantations, "_Incacerata_!"

Bright light of condensed chakra shot from the tips, which she had easily dodged. Ducking under their outstretched arms, she stepped toward them, her Byakugan already activated, hands glowing with chakra, and tapped six shoulders and six arms. The three boys fell back yelling in pain, but the original silencing wards that they personally, and now, ironically, had placed on the walls ensured that they wouldn't be heard. She stepped back and stared at them impassively. It was all over in a matter of seconds.

Reaching over, she calmly grabbed Malfoy by the tie and hoisted him up with a single arm, the wizard still moaning due to the pain. "Foreigner," he threatened between clenched teeth, "mark my word, I will inform Father about this slight!"

She ignored his words for the moment due to the waves of fear that were rolling off of his shoulders. '_Like a dog with bark but no bite. He's quaking, too, and there was trembling in his inflection. Perhaps he isn't used to the sight of an activated Byakugan._' People back home often remarked that being stared at by her clan's kekkei genkai was like having their soul unraveled and exposed for the world to see. Instead, quite un-Hinata-like, she indulged in her frustrations, channelling her father's lessons on the art of conversation, and said simply, "Don't think that you have any power over ninjas, Malfoy-san. I would appreciate it, if you would stop harassing me with the delusion that you may succeed. I would suggest that you stop before you make it difficult for either of us."

The wizard managed to force out a squeak of assent that sounded ferret-like. She released her grip and tapped him gently on both shoulders and arms. Blocked tenketsu points were again opened and previous pain disappeared like it had never been there in the first place. She didn't bother to do the same with the other boys, Goyle and Crabbe; they would be fine within fifteen minutes. The only reason why she bothered with Malfoy, was to show him that she could cover her tracks effectively. There would be no concrete proof of her actions if he ever pressed charges.

The boy ran off, acting like the Kyuubi was biting at his heels. She dragged the two Slytherins, who had fainted from overload of their senses, onto hospital beds and covered them with blankets. They laid opposite of the bed where Naruto-kun was sleeping.

Straightening her clothes as she turned off her blood-limit, she had to admit that the pureblood's views were rubbing off of her. He had talked about a revolution of the traditional ways, away from the first-generation wizards' and witches' views of the world that were polluting the pureblood mindset and made them stray from their paths: such as the 'absurd' fear that magical creatures were Dark and shouldn't be given their own lands, or that rituals that made one closer to the entity of magic was forbidden and too dangerous because of the risks that foolhardy, low-magic first-generations faced whenever they attempted the procedure. All in all, it reminded her of Konohakagure, when the Sandaime ruled. The civilian council had an enormous amount of say in ninja politics, and her father had not been happy. He was elated when he had heard that Tsunade was chosen as the Godaime, assured that she understood the need to treat the shinobi population differently than their civilian counterparts.

But today was the first hostile move he had made after hearing her refusal, and that was very troubling. The boy came from a noble and respected family, that was rumored to be moving against Harry and his allies. Malfoy might finally force her to declare allegiances; she wouldn't be allowed to toe the line any longer. '_Hmm, Shikamaru-kun will not be happy._'

OoO

Shikamaru watched with boredom as Professor McGonagall tried her best to coach Harry Potter on what it took to become a member of the wizard police. He was pleased, as he listened, to hear that the young wizard had improved in his lessons these days. He was averaging an 'Exceeds Expectations' in Transfiguration and an 'Exceeds Expectations' in Potions. He dreaded what would have happened if Neji and Naruto hadn't encouraged Harry to study; the boy probably would be floundering at the level of 'Acceptable.' The inner genius of Shikamaru shuddered.

"I was just wondering whether Mr. Potter has _quite_ the temperament for an Auror?" said Professor Umbridge sweetly.

"Were you?" said Professor McGonagall haughtily. "Well, Potter," she continued, as though there had been no interruption, "if you are serious in this ambition, I would advise you to concentrate on Transfiguration and Potions. I see that you have improved immensely this year; Professor Flitwick has graded you between 'Exceeds Expectations' and 'Outstanding' for this year and the last, so your Charms work is fine; as for Defense Against the Dark Arts, your marks have been generally high, Professor Lupin in particular thought you— _are you quite sure you won't like a cough drop, Dolores_?"

Above the rafters of the classroom, the dark-haired ninja scratched the back of his head and popped a few stiff joints. He watched the two elderly witches descend into an almost literal catfight as Potter escaped out of the door. Umbridge stormed out of the room minutes later, leaving McGonagall to calm her breath and her stance. He melted into the shadows and rose again from the darkness behind her desk. The witch knew he was there, but seemed to be amusing herself with some of the reading selections on the opposite bookcase. The Professor knew about the ninjas' predicament and, for the first time in her life, decided to defy Dumbledore's intentions. "Koinichiwa McGonagall-san."

"Hello Mr. Nara," she greeted stiffly. "Yes, I have the maps for you." She pulled out a book, flipped to a specific page, took out a piece of parchment that was concealed, and handed it over, "Note that this will be the last favor I will do behind Albus's back to assist you. These are the brochures about the Ministry, something that one might find at the entrance if they asked for information and these are a detailed magical layout of the Department of Mysteries from when Harry Potter's mother worked there, although nothing of note should have changed."

A low bow, "Arigato."

"Don't think that I'll keep doing this for you, Nara." The stern lady's eyebrows pushed together, "Perhaps it's my sense of justice that feels that you have been treated wrongly by many different parties. Now if that is all, I bid you farewell." She strode to her desk and touched the wood lightly with her fingertips and sighed, "I hate for your first impression of our school to be so negative, but we are in harsh times. The students have grown restless in the face of…" she gave a disdainful sniff, "authority."

Hours later, as Shikamaru silently observed a school corridor morph into a swamp; he couldn't agree more with her words.

_Chapter Thirty: Grawp_

Neji woke up in darkness feeling weak and queasy. For a moment, he could do nothing but stare upwards before the memory of Naruto screaming, the wizards in the office attacking, and the slight leak of Kyuubi's chakra assaulted him. Immediately leaping to his feet in a battle-ready position, he activated his Byakugan, and saw a small girl sitting in the corner. With her arms around her knees, hugging them closely to her chest, he could see that she wasn't starving, in fact, she looked perfectly normal if it wasn't for the widened eyes that were warily trained upon him. With her dark hair and her white eyes, she looked like a younger version of Hanabi with shorter hair except the mark on her forehead showed that she was a Branch House member. She was also wearing British clothing. "_Hello_," he said hoarsely, surprising himself at the sudden, intense need for water.

"_I'm not telling you anything_," she declared, childishly defiant. Without further ado, she stuck out her chin and sneered, Hyuuga-like, "_You're that woman that can change faces and bodies and your little trick to speak my language has so far only lasted for two minutes. At this very moment, I'm probably being watched too._"

'_Is she talking about that woman who worked under Dumbledore in that organization? Tonks?_' He cleared his throat and swallowed. "_Hyuuga Michi?_" She stared blankly back and rolled her eyes, shifting her position so that she was facing the wall. '_But that can't be right… Hyuuga Michi should be a thirty-year old woman,_' he thought, all explanations of this phenomenon drawing a blank. But there were signs of a talented kunoichi. Around her wrist, wrapped around a couple of times with the metal plate over her knuckles was the Konoha hitai-ate. Like any experienced ninja, she carried herself loosely but ready to move at any moment's notice. Her eyes were also activated.

Knowing that she was still watching, he made hand signs, '_Konoha_ _ninja, family, cousin, Hyuuga Neji_.' Her head whipped back around and her eyes widened in shock; he continued, '_Captured. Status?_'

Eyes returning to normal, she hesitantly crept up to him, eyes darting to the side before making a face, apparently deciding something. "_What I say right now won't be important anyways._" She squinted, "_Neji? Really? I remember you from when you were little. You've grown. Did Hokage-sama send you? I thought that Konoha would have given up on me. Did you know that they started having people pose as you and Hinata-sama, but would only stay with me for an hour, never longer?_"

"_What happened?"_

She casually shrugged and became fascinated by the fray on her black robes, "_After using their special chakra, and failing in their attempts to find the secrets of the Byakugan, they thought that the layout of the kekkei genkai would be hidden in my mind. The Caged Bird Seal prevented them from entering, so they made me drink this potion that reverted me back to a toddler, thinking that the seal would be gone due to the illusion that I was a younger version of myself and, if not, that my mind would still be more easily manipulated. I'm probably physically five or six. But it turned out that seal still stayed with me and I still managed to remember everything I was taught; my short-term memory is still developing and my maturity has plummeted, but other than that, I'm well-kept, if not forgotten._"

"_I apologize Michi-san. Hiashi-sama couldn't detect you through the seal and the entire family had thought that you were KIA and grieved at your funeral. It never occurred to us that the fact that you're one of the few in our clan who can speak English was the reason you were taken._"

"_It's fine._" Playing with a strand of hair, she smiled humorlessly, "_This place is twisting my psyche and my mental and emotional development but I can finally begin to hope if you're here. I never thought that I would be thankful for being a Branch member._" She then began to sign with her hands, '_Caged bird Seal also block chakra coil system secrets,' _and smiled. "_They used to threaten me with torture and even prevented me from sleeping days on end, but with you here aware of me, they won't possibly dare now. They will never find out anything. Even with the political opposition and delicacy, the Hokage should be here soon. Wizards are quite dumb, ne?_" She snickered.

He nodded, "_Quite_," looked around and leaned back, "_Now we wait,_" and they sat there for sometime in silence.

"_I remembered when your father asked me to change your diapers. Now look, I'm much younger than you_." She gestured helplessly before leaning her head on his arm, her inner child seeking comfort. That remark, seemingly, was designed to comfort him in some manner.

Feeling awkward, Neji didn't answer but wondered about what was to come, feeling dread prickle at his sixth sense.

OoO

Having Potter kicked out of Occlumency lessons was the only bright part of the week, there was no need to worry of any mind infiltration. Upon hearing the report from Hinata, Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief.

'_And then_,' he thought gloomily in the shadows of the trees, 'e_verything went downhill from there._' Hagrid had just foolishly led Harry and his friend, Hermione, into the forest to visit his little brother. Kami, if Hagrid came out with horrible injuries, how would the students deal? '_Though,_' He tapped his lip twice, _'It's almost like entertainment, especially the witch's expression when she was asked to keep it company.'_

Hagrid was introducing his little brother to the guests of the forest. "This is Hermy, Grawp! An' she's gonna be comin' an' all! Is'n tha' nice? Eh? Two friends fer yeh ter— GRAWPY, NO!"

Honed ninja skills prevented Shikamaru from jolting in surprise in his position. Grawp's hand had shot out of nowhere toward Hermione— Harry seized her and pulled her backward behind the tree, so that Grawp's fist scraped the trunk but closed on thin air.

"BAD BOY, GRAWPY!" Hermione was shaking and whimpering as she clenched to the wizard like a lifeline. Hagrid yelled, "VERY BAD BOY! YEH DON' GRAB— OUCH!" The giant had punched the man in the nose and then, loosing interest, had straightened up again and was again engaged in pulling back the pine as far as it would go.

"Righ'," said Hagrid thickly, getting up with one hand pinching his bleeding nose and the other grasping his crossbow. "Well… there yeh are… Yeh've met him an'— an' now he'll know yeh when yeh come back. Yeah… well…" Between the pauses were distant cheers and tunes coming from the stadium at the school, singing about 'Weasley' and 'King,' that only the Nara scion could hear.

Behind the tree, the ninja began rubbing his temples. It was only luck that he didn't have to use jutsu to save Harry and his friend, but if they felt obligated to visit Grawp and to 'talk ter him a bit'… Shikamaru wished that either student had the courage to tell the gamekeeper that no matter how hard he tried, it would be pointless to try and civilize the giant. How could Hagrid, even with his immense capacity to delude himself that fanged monsters were lovably harmless, according to the rumors and reports from Naruto, fool himself that Grawp would ever be fit to mix with humans? '_There would be a better chance of the Kyuubi integrating itself among ninjas than Grawp. At least the demon can talk_,' he sourly thought.

Sounds of hoofs and angry voices of men approaching quickly made the ninja groan quietly; just when things couldn't get any better.

_Chapter Thirty-one: O.W.L.s_

"Oh, my goodness," Hermione said faintly. She stared into the entrance hall, "Is that them? Is that the examiners?"

Harry and Ron whipped around on their bench. Through the doors to the Great Hall they could see Umbridge standing with a small group of ancient-looking witches and wizards. Umbridge, Harry was pleased to see, looked rather nervous.

"Shall we go and have a closer look?" said Ron.

Harry and Hermione nodded as they hastened toward the double doors into the entrance hall, slowing down as they stepped over the threshold to walk sedately past the examiners. But while Hermione and Ron's attention was on Professor Marchbanks— a tiny, stooped witch with a face so lined it looked as though it had been draped in cobwebs, and to whom Umbridge was speaking very deferentially— his eyes trailed upon another examiner, the oldest and baldest wizard he had ever seen, who had made a subtle motion toward the ceiling that said, 'Come.'

'Who is he gesturing to?' Harry asked to himself as Marchbanks talked loudly about Dumbledore's accomplishments on his N.E.W.T.s. A slight change of pressure, a sudden breeze of wind and a scattering of leaves were the only thing that announced Hyuuga Hinata's arrival. The toad-woman gave a yelp of alarm but the examiner didn't hear and continued to speak loudly. He chanced a glance: Hermione and Ron blinked at him and dutifully turned their attention back to Marchbanks. Umbridge looked like she wanted to interrupt the conversation between ninja and wizard, but couldn't tear herself away from her companion without causing offense. Harry discreetly tapped his wand to his ear and muttered an incantation.

Even with the Amplifier Spell, he could barely catch snippets of their conversation. "…for you. The world's political stage is becoming very anxious. Everyone in Europe is watching you four, but without knowing what's going on. You wouldn't feel much in these walls, and I hazard a guess that you are fairly ignorant."

"… -gato Tofty-san. The information has been trickling in at a slow pace. I know the mail is watched and properly censored, but, please, can you tell me more?" Her hands were clasped respectfully behind her back.

"… Rumors are about, that your Ho-Ka-Ge is amassing support from her allies on the Ninja Continent and Magical Imperial Japan. But I don't believe that to be true, your leader must first bargain alone with the Ministry before taking any decisive action, but she has been demanding answers and Magical Britain is pretending that they can't hear. After all, with the Dark Lord running about…" The Boy-Who-Lived's jaw involuntarily dropped. "Your skills are needed. Perhaps blackmail…"

"We'll see," Hinata said stiffly, bowing as she made some hand signs and disappeared again. As if nothing amazing had happened, Professor Tofty smiled blissfully at the gawking students, seemingly unaware of the attentions and whispers that he was garnering. Before they could be caught for eavesdropping, Harry, Ron, and Hermione reluctantly dragged their feet up the marble staircase.

OoO

On the whole, Harry thought his exams had gone rather well; his Levitation Charm was certainly much better than Malfoy's had been, though he wished he hadn't switched the incantations for Charmed Running (Muto tu excurres) with the Charmed Throwing (Muto tu Excutis) which caused his teacup to fling itself off the edge of the table and shatter. The only mistake he made in Transfiguration was switching the definition of _The Einez law on Transfigurized Gold Pertaining to Matter_ with _Rudolph's Constant on Enchanted Metals_ in the written part, and thought that he was well off in the practical, managing to vanish the whole of his flamingo. In Herbology, he channeled all the skill he had from tending Aunt Petunia's flowerbeds into his practical and narrowly dodged a bite from a Fanged Geranium and the Underground Poisonous Egyptian Ivy. On Thursday, in Defense against the Dark Arts, Harry felt for sure that he had passed. He had no problem with either the written or practical and even got a bonus point for a successful Patronus Spell (his happy thought: Umbridge getting sacked). Walking out of the exam room, he was sure that he had achieved an 'Outstanding" O.W.L.

After the break of the weekend, the fifth years of Hogwarts started their Potions O.W.L. The young wizard was slightly disturbed at how abnormally easy the practical was, having struggled through the written part, but managed to answer everything. Thank Merlin for Naruto's impromptu quizzes at their meetings, they had finally managed to force Harry into memorizing the ingredients and procedures for the creation of Veritaserum. With Snape absent from the proceedings in the afternoon, he found that he was much more relaxed than he usually was while making potions. Neville, who was sitting near Harry, also looked happier than Harry had ever seen him during Potions class.

"Seemed a bit too simple for you?" He asked Ron as they headed back to the Gryffindor common room, not daring to ask Hermione any question in her current, snappy attitude. Ron shook his head morosely.

"No way mate, I'm sure that no potion should be bubbling with fumes that reminded me of George and Fred's prank on the bathrooms on the fourth floor and making noises that sound like Vane's giggling." They awkwardly dropped the subject. Hermione, unable to vent her spleen and stress on any of her year mates, was reduced to telling off some first years for giggling too loudly on the couch.

The group was exposed to a variety of animals in the Care for Magical Creatures exam that were, surprisingly, a mixture of Professor Grubbly-Plank's and Hagrid's lessons. Among them were unicorns, fire crabs, a bicorn, bowtruckles, and even a Blast-Ended Skrewt. Each student had to demonstrate correct handling and proper technique without injuring themselves or the animal. Walking back to the school, Lavender sheepishly admitted that Hagrid's lesson probably helped her to attain at least an 'E' O.W.L. The rest of the Gryffindor group agreed and started to mentally plan their study schedules for Divinations and Astronomy.

OoO

The image of Hagrid sprinting away into the dark still haunted him the next afternoon. Hermione was worrying about Professor McGonagall, who had, last night, received no less than four stunners at point blank range. It definitely didn't help him concentrate for the History of Magic exam.

'The second Goblin War of… I should know this,' he racked his brains, 'I remember taking notes two months ago. It wasn't a rebellion but an actual war, one of the few and the main cause was the Wizard community in Geneva, a part of Switzerland, who invaded the banks in the Alps and… No… were they dwarves?' He scribbled down a few lines and read the next question. He closed his stinging eyes, the blazing-white parchment was starting to take its toll on him, '…Ok, Pierre Bonaccord and the community of Liechtenstein had come at odds because of Troll rights….'

The answer wasn't detailed enough; he struggled to think. But the sounds of quills scratching out answers after answers… Professor Marchbanks hasn't moved from her position for a long time, or maybe in the Great Hall, time stood still, it had no meaning. He could almost feel each grain of sand trickle down through the hourglass at front. '…Ok, think Harry. …Hermione's notes went on for pages about the confederation. …Goblins were in this mess but were immediately rejected at the confederation in France but no one wanted to come…'

OoO

Shikamaru and Hinata watched as Harry Potter, who had dozed off in the middle of the test, jerked to the side, yelling so horrifically that the hairs on their neck stood on edge. The wizard hit the ground and awoke, still yelling, clutching to his forehead, as the Great Hall erupted all around him.

OoO

The torture that these wizards had put Hyuuga Neji through was nothing directly physical. The people had threatened him with the safety of Hyuuga Michi but he, an expert in reading body language, ascertained that they were bluffing (twitching hands, smiling too wide to be true), and that the only reason he was here was because the researchers, Unspeakables, had given up on the woman… girl who, for years on end, refused to give up anything useful to Wizarding Britain.

So he lay there, strapped to a thin lab table as they took samples of his blood and used their magic to diagnose him with no amount of success. And then, they began to withhold food from him, suggesting, but never threatening, "If you'd only speak to us, we might remember to hand you your rations." He had been through worse.

Like Michi-san, he was going through sleep deprivation, the moment his eyelids started to droop, they'd shock him with some magic spell. He had already memorized the patterns of the ceiling and the exact brightness of the ethereal lights that floated high in shapes of orbs. A growl, his stomach protested the lack of food, he licked his lips. Dizziness and exhaustion weighed him down, more than ever, but the mantra continued, '_I will not back down. I refuse to tell them anything. They will learn nothing._' The wizards were doing this to him, he knew that the Minister and Dumbledore had worked together to get him here. He could only hope that their mission was a failure.

Michi-san had touched his arm before he was taken away, her eyes betrayed age and hardness that was fitting to a thirty-year old but not a five-year old. 'May Kami be with you, Neji-kun.'

They still allow him to drink water, but it'll only be a matter of time before that stops too.

_Chapter Thirty-two: Out of the Fire_

"Don't go." Shikamaru insisted with level tone that barely hinted at being forced. "Just think it out, be rational, this is a very bad idea."

"Why?" Harry shot back, nerves already frayed from his impromptu shouting match with his friends. "Sirius is being tortured NOW! We haven't got time to waste—"

"But if this is a tr-trick of Voldemort's?" Hinata asked. "How could Sirius-san be kidnapped if he was residing in his home?"

The glare that came from the wizard was so hard that Hinata winced involuntarily; it felt like killing-intent. "Then how about Snape?" Luna said airily. "He can help right? Dumbledore trusts him."

"I don't trust him."

The dark-haired ninja made a noise that was full of frustration and bordering on anger. Harry James Potter would not see reason.

OoO

Shikamaru had faded into the shadows the moment the group was caught. While the rest of group had faces full of hurt and betrayal, Hinata knew the situation called for someone to be prepared to launch a surprise attack. She, however, allowed herself to be 'captured' when the diversion was intercepted by Umbridge's group of Slytherins. There was one Slytherin for every person responsible, they gripped Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom, who had rushed to Ginny's defense but ended up overtaken anyways. The latter was trapped in a stranglehold by one of Malfoy's bodyguards, Crabbe, and looked in imminent danger of suffocation. An older wizard, Warrington, gagged all of them except for Hinata.

As they neared the Headmistress's office, they heard a shout, "Liar!" from Umbridge and a crash of someone slamming into the desk. Malfoy looked like his birthday had come early.

Before the group walked through the entrance, Malfoy caught the Hyuuga Heir's eyes and smirked before mouthing the words, "You'll pay."

OoO

Harry admitted that Snape was in actuality his last hope. And with him gone with a sneer, an insult, and a flurry of black robes, he despaired so heavily that he allowed Umbridge to overcome his will, allowing her to talk herself into low morals and further insanity. With Malfoy watching hungrily, Umbridge whispered, "The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue." A gasp echoed across the room.

'No, please not that…' Not like fourth year at the graveyard. A feeling of ice down his back, a fear that ran up and down in the pattern of knives of the Cruciatus returned with a vengeance and he shivered. Mind blanked in horror, 'The Ministry would never allow this. They can't. I know they don't like me, but they can't do this!' He couldn't hear the sounds around him, of Hermione's defense and Umbridge's confession that it was she who sent the dementors to Private Drive. 'No. Voldemort has come back to from the dead.'

"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him." The wand kept pointing at different parts of his body, apparently trying to decide what would hurt the most.

He mouthed the words silently, nobody noticed. Not Cedric.

His faith and trust in the Ministry, any governing body… no… He reviewed his experiences: with the Dursleys, with Snape, Dumbledore, the Order, Umbridge… He lost all confidence with any sort of authority. Umbridge took a deep breath, "Cruci—"

"NO!"

OoO

Harry had no idea what was going on anymore. Hermione's words, "The Weapon," had lit a fire in the toad-woman's eyes that ultimately led to Harry, Hermione, and Umbridge leaving the school to present something that would lead to the downfall of the Minister. Not only did the witch manage to convince the stout woman that there was a threat, but had managed to prevent any Slytherin from following. The act— the sobbing and the shamed confession— that his friend had put up was very…

Slytherin.

As Umbridge poked him sharply in the back to 'show her the way', he chanced a glance towards his friend and was startled to see Shikamaru partway hidden in the shadows. It seemed like Shikamaru was predicting an opportunity and plotting with Hinata. His eyes, usually drooping and lazy, were dark and clever.

'He knows that something will happen. What is it?'


	7. Return Home

Last chapter (probably going to be a long one): I'm so excited to finish this story too! Though it seems like I'm in a habit of ending on cliffs, at least I finish them to an extent to be semi-proud of!

Some lines are taken from the actual book. I partially quoted Winston Churchill. I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.

"Speech"- English 'Thoughts'- English

"_Speech" _- Japanese _'Hand signs or thoughts'_- Japanese

At last-

_As we've all been waiting for…_

**Chakra and Magic**

**Seven: Return Home**

_((We tend to leave footprints at the door so you may remember us.))_

_Chapter Thirty-three: Fight and Flight_

The moment the door closed, Ron immediately began plotting; this is a chess game, scenarios and tactics: obviously the heavy-set should battle against heavy-set, but he was sure that Ginny was enough to go against Malfoy and Bulstrode with a hand behind her back. Having grown up with six older brothers, she had experienced brawling and had the scars to prove it. His eyes darted from Neville to Crabbe and back to Neville. Understanding the message, Neville gulped, but inclined his head in acknowledgment. He and Hermione could take out Warrington, after Ginny knocked out Bulstrode. Luna, if she stuck with Ginny, should be fine. Everyone else should be easy pickings. Within five seconds, the members of the D.A. were well-aware of their plan; all they needed now was a perfect opportunity to strike.

But there was a wild card, Hinata Hyuuga, the female ninja, who was standing off at the side with her head bowed low enough that no one could see the top of her face. Ron narrowed his eyes, he couldn't be sure about these foreigners, they might be backing up the You-Know-Who's side without anyone knowing. He had seen the Order's reactions to the guards and they could only be described as wary and suspicious and the same was true of the ninjas. Ever since the 'accident' involving Naruto Uzumaki and that Auror, who was probably never going to step out of St. Mungo's ever again, the ninjas had been making themselves scarce, too scarce. Rumors around the school, fueled by the newspapers in Wizarding Britain, whispered that the ninjas were up to something bad that would threaten the Magical Community as a whole. They were speaking about an invasion from the Hidden Countries.

Ron shivered. Judging by the powers each individual ninja held, the rumors were definitely not far from the mark. No, it would be better to see what Hyuuga will do before they made their move, unless the Snakes moved against the D.A. first.

Time failed to pass in this room; no one moved for some time, because it was well known to the people who had the upper hand that it was wise to wait for the defender's move. Malfoy tapped his wand and smirked victoriously to the room in general. The blond met Ron's eye and slowly and deliberately drew his index finger across his neck. Ron resisted the urge to wring the ferret's neck. Warrington cleared his throat impatiently and looked like he was about to say something to Luna. Rumors around the school had him taking up Muggle-baiting and Blood-traitor-torturing outside of Hogwarts, and the Slytherin's eyes were lit up and his wand was shooting minor black sparks from his excitement. The heavy atmosphere of the room added to the tension 'till it was condensed like a brick. The redhead felt a bead of sweat fall down his brow, no wand, no adults; he should move soon before anyone gets hurt.

Then, the outer walls of the school vibrated from a roar, capable of bursting eardrums, from the Forest where Umbridge, Harry, and Hermione were. What was that? Some giant throwing a tantrum? "HERMY! WHERE HAGGER?"

Taking the chance, Ron quickly tried to twist out of the Slytherin's arms but ended up on the floor, with two other people on him. "Stupefy! Stupefy!" Someone shouted. Ginny screamed and threw a punch that connected, but was subdued quickly by a combined effort of Bulstrode and Crabbe who had knocked Neville temporarily unconscious. "Grab the wands!" The D.A. wasn't prepared for this and began to fight using fists, the muggle way, Ron panicked and fought back against the hands in anyway he could, with fists, feet, and teeth.

A flash of black and lavender, Warrington's grip lessoned and he fell ungracefully to the ground. Ron immediately searched the older boy for his wand, pushed the body aside, and then sat up. He looked up and saw the ninja moving a near impossible speed 'Are her eyes pulsing? Are those veins? That can't be normal. Bloody hell. Her hands are glowing. She's not punching them; she's touching, just barely.' The moment Hinata's hands brushed the barest skins; her attackers would yell and double over in pain. She moved between bodies like water, her feet didn't even seem to touch the ground. Seconds later, all the Slytherins were subdued and out cold, like the aftermath of a warzone.

It was all over.

Ron watched in stunned amazement as Hinata kindly offered a hand to Luna Lovegood who gratefully accepted the gesture. The two girls were speaking amiably in the ninja's foreign tongue, though with an underlying hint of solemnity running through their conversation. He could tell that they were talking about him with Luna's side glances that were aimed at him and her reassurances to Hinata's apprehension. Finally Hinata sighed, patted the blonde on the head, and walked over.

The redhead instinctly drew back, Hinata reminded him of a kitten, but one that had just shown she had a vicious bite. She was beautiful, he had to admit; the whole school agreed. Ninjas in general were beautiful people; Hermione once hypothesized that it was due to their greater reserves in magic that enabled them to have a sort of allure that oozed out of their bodies like Veelas or Vampires or Undines, according to his mum, to make themselves look more "aesthetically pleasing." Whatever it was, it had most blokes drooling over her, some even purposely harmed themselves in order to get a trip to the Hospital Wing. The foreigners had a charisma that attracted attention wherever they went, people just couldn't seem to look away. The thought scared the hell out of him. "What do you want?" he demanded rudely.

The female ninja sighed and her eyes stopped pulsating, from a magnanimous fighter, she turned back into a meek nurse. "P-Potter-san will most likely be going to the Ministry of Magic, to the Department of Mysteries."

Ron's gaped, "How do you…"

"It doesn't matter how I know, j-just inform Potter-san that perhaps I, along with Shikamaru-kun will be there too, perhaps to offer back-up." She turned her head to the side and adverted her gaze, her leg moving enough to give a nice kick to Malfoy's head. Ron heartily approved.

'She said, "Perhaps." That means she might not. I would bet twenty galleons that the real reason why she's going there is to mount a rescue mission to get back Neji Hyuuga,' his mind reasoned. 'And if they succeed, they'll be in enough trouble with the Ministry to flee back to their own continent. But mum said that the Order doesn't want to see them leave without helping us defeat You-Know-Who. Won't it be better if they left? Their loyalties still aren't clear. I should let them go "with permission" then, since there really isn't any way to stop them and I have a feeling that they're just asking me out of courtesy. Besides, they won't leave Naruto alone at the Hospital Wing, if the worst comes to blows, we'll use Naruto as a bargaining chip.' Ron shrugged casually, masking his fear with bravado, "Sure, sure. I don't know much about the Department; just know that they got some weird things going on there."

Hinata nodded and scanned the room, Ron followed her gaze. Luna was unscathed. The rest of them looked a little the worse for wear— there were several long scratches running the length of Ginny's cheek. Ginny was, thank Merlin, awake, just in temporary shock and he reckoned she would recover fairly quickly. A large purple lump was swelling above Neville's right eye; he would feel that once he woke up. Ron's own lip was bleeding worse than ever. "D-do you," Hinata began unsurely, "need any assistance in healing?"

He shook his head and scrutinized her, "No," ignoring the throbbing protests from his split lip.

"Then I'll take my l-leave. Sayonara Weasley-san." Hinata bowed and turned to the shadows. He blinked; a hand appeared out of the shadows and beckoned the girl over. Hinata took the hand and was pulled into the darkness. She was gone.

Blinking and rubbing his eyes disbelievingly, he cursed under his breath and tried his best to rouse Ginny from her state, before finally determining that his little sister probably needed some time alone to recollect her scattered thoughts. Luna flashed him a dreamy smile which he pretended not to see. He staggered over to the shadows where the girl disappeared, 'Come to think of it, the hand looked like Nara's hand…' and touched the dark wall and patted around for a secret passage. He sighed, 'No indentation, no door, nothing. Bloody weird ninjas and their bloody weird magic.'

At that moment, Harry rushed through the door with Hermione in tow. Umbridge wasn't with them. Ron smiled at them and jauntily waved, feeling strangely pleased with himself. The duo looked in a great hurry to get somewhere, near frantic too, out of breath and exhausted. Their hair was full of twigs and the occasional leaf. Harry's green eyes roved around the scene before finally settling on him, "… What happened?"

OoO

A length of shadow, no different from any of the surrounding shadows created by light and dark, moved quickly across the floor, blending in and out of the dark patches on the ground. Sometimes, specifically whenever a person walked by, it would dart off, like a fleeting pixie, to a corner, only to cautiously re-emerge back onto its path a moment later. The shadow passed trees, buildings, streets, and seemed to move tirelessly toward its destination, until it stopped at a battered telephone box and slid through the cracks, downwards.

A minute later, the shadow was within the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic that seemed to be completely empty, bathed in soft golden light. There were no fires burning under the mantelpieces set into the wall. Hinata stepped out of the shadows first and her eyes were immediately attracted to the golden symbols that twisted sinuously in the dark blue ceiling. The rest of the shadow morphed back into human form: Shikamaru rolled out and consulted the map that he was given to by McGonagall. The only sound in the Atrium was the steady rush of water from the golden fountain, where jets from the wands of the witch and wizard, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and the house-elf's ears continued to gush into the surrounding pool.

"_We're here."_

OoO

The setting sun's rays of light were soft with a red tint and caused the entire Hospital Wing of Hogwarts to glow. The rays, however, didn't manage to touch the last row of beds, where a young blond boy resided, breathing evenly in the deepest sleep Morpheus could bestow. The entire body of the boy was still, had been still for some time: days, weeks…

And then, a hand twitched.

_Chapter Thirty-four: The Department of Mysteries_

'_How long have we've been searching?_' Shikamaru wondered, feeling still a bit lightheaded from the chakra-intensive Shadow-Walking, or rather, Shadow-Running, that he had just accomplished. He followed Hinata, who had her Byakugan activated, through a series of circular rooms and doors with the occasional laboratory or dark chamber. The kunoichi was using her ability to see faint wisps of chakra to pinpoint Neji's unique Hyuuga-chakra among the chakra-saturated air. She claimed that Hyuuga-chakra was whiter than all other traces and he hoped to Kami that she was right. They were probably in the middle of the entire complex; McGonagall's map was quickly abandoned. '_Pity that the Byakugan cannot activate in the Nara's shadows.'_

It seemed like ages until the lift descended to level nine and a cool female voice announced, "Department of Mysteries." The Nara scion sighed and frowned, how troublesome. He wished that there had been a better way to prepare, more information, or a later date to start the rescue of Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Michi, but there wasn't. He had thought this through, over and over again and this was their best chance, their only chance, of succeeding. He wearily rubbed his eyes and tried to blink out the blue shadows from his vision. But that was hard to do, mainly because the floor, ceiling, walls, and doors were all black, plain, and unmarked, and the only light came from candles, interspersed along the wall, whose flames burned blue. Their cool, shimmering light reflected on the shining marble floor made it look as though there was water underfoot. In his mind, the rooms were still rotating.

Hinata opened another door that looked exactly the same as all the other doors. She looked in and took a sharp intake of breath. "Shikamaru-kun," she whispered. He peered over her shoulder into the room.

Directly under the main chandelier, in the middle of the room, Neji was strapped to a metal table with bands that had runic figures embedded into them. He seemed to be sleeping and didn't look physically harmed, though first impressions were rarely correct. The Hyuuga heiress rushed over and instantly began running her hands up and down his body, glowing green, taking in the information that his chakra was supplying. Shikamaru took a cursory glance around the room, giving an uneasy glance at the bloody scalpels, the stained cloth, the bottles of potions, the small pile of parchment with small, crammed writings of notes and data, and the constant whisperings in the background, which he couldn't decide whether was machine, magic, or something else.

"_Sleep deprivation— his brain isn't functioning at optimum levels. They loaded his body with chemicals that made him more susceptible to telling truths and caused him to hallucinate. He hasn't been getting enough nutrients and he's severely dehydrated. There's an abundant amount of foreign chakra forcibly reversing the flow of his chakra in his coils, it must be painful. Oh, Neji-kun…"_ Hinata muttered heartbrokenly, cupping his clammy cheek. "_What have they done to you?"_

As he slipped the notes into his vest pocket, his eyes landed on a small girl sitting in a cage that was more like a niche in the wall. She looked like a perfect Hyuuga child with short black hair, clear eyes, and the unmistakable Caged bird Seal on her forehead. Her liquid eyes, which were originally following the whimsical patterns that her fingers were tracing onto her knees, snapped up to him and to the papers in his hands the moment she felt his gaze. "_That's all they ever had on us. None of it is useful and there aren't any other copies. We don't ever talk." _She spoke with a harshness that wouldn't be heard from normal five year olds.

It took a Katon jutsu to melt the lock on the bars. When the girl stepped into the light, Shikamaru noticed that she looked very tired; the circles under her eyes were more pronounced than what was supposed to be healthy. '_ Preventing sleep is a classic form of torture; she has probably been subjected to it for years._' He looked down, "_Hyuuga Michi?_"

She instinctively straightened her back and nodded, "_Present and accounted for." _Shikamaru noticed that she used an outdated method of responding.

"_Report._"

OoO

Madame Pomfrey rushed out of her office as soon as she heard the first sounds of her once comatose patient waking. Armed with her wand and a bottle of Dreamless Sleep, she observed the blond boy, ninja, Naruto Uzumaki, attempting to stand on shaky legs, holding onto the bed post with both hands. Despite her slight fear of the foreigner, the sight gave her a near heart-attack of worry, "What are you doing?" she shrieked and called up her Healer authority, "Get back into bed, young man. You are in no shape to even be sitting up. You need more rest."

The boy looked at her long and hard and huffed at her words, "Whatever you say, old lady, but you aren't the boss of me." He released his grip from the bedpost and took a few experimental steps, grinning broadly when he didn't fall, revealing his sharp canine teeth. He took another few hesitant steps toward the opposite bed and marveled at his own progress. There were no sounds of his feet touching the tile floor, the Nurse blinked.

'If you close your eyes, you wouldn't know he was there. How in the world did he manage to wake up so soon? How in the world did he manage to walk after only scant minutes of standing? What sort of healing abilities does he have?' The school matron wondered half in fear and half in wonder. She steeled herself and pointed her wand at the ninja's back, 'Dumbledore specifically ordered me to keep him in bed. As the school's healer, it's my duty to see to his full recovery.' The sun was angled in a way that made her shadow one elongated pole. 'Stupefy,' she whispered in her mind; a shot of red light headed point-blank to at the ninja's back.

Unfortunately, the ninja stiffened and dodged the Stunner in a way that made the attack look pathetic. The ninja wasted no time in flipping over the air, disappearing and reappearing in front of the Head Nurse, knocking her down with one kick to her legs and twisting her arms behind her, rendering her motionless. "Why did you do that?" He exclaimed bewildered, "Don't you know that it's dishonorable to attack someone's back?"

'From barely being able to walk to fully being capable of defending himself in no time at all. His recovery rate is off the charts.' Biting her lower lip, she stiffened as he applied more pressure downwards. She stared at the tile floors and concentrated on the little scuff marks that dotted the otherwise whiteness, an Occlumency tactic block out the pain.

"Huh," Naruto remarked offhandedly, checking the calendar on the opposite wall, "Already that late." The shinobi bit his bottom lip worriedly, '_Damn it! My data transfer seal that was connected to my teammates must have fried when the wizard met the Kyuubi._' "So Lady," he chirped, "what happened while I was knocked out?"

"…Please, let me go." Madame Pomfrey choked out, trying to play as a helpless woman. There was a resigned sigh but one that was mockingly given; she could almost see him shaking his head childishly. 'No one ever comes up here at this time of the day, nobody would even hear me scream if I choose to because of the minor sound barrier on the door. The advantage is on his side. What would Dumbledore think of me?'

"Nuh uh, no way. Not after what that guy did to me, without even asking, and look at the consequences he had to face. I think that the magical people are plain dumb, dumber than Teme, and that's saying a lot." His knee dug into her back and his grip became so painful that she involuntarily released her wand, only realizing her actions after she heard the sound of wood hitting tile. "Tell me. What has happened? Where are my teammates? What have you done to them?"

"Didn't do anything," she bit out. "Kingsley abandoned his watch over you a week after the accident. You're friends disappeared around the same time that they," she pointed at some beds hidden by a curtain, "appeared."

Frowning, Naruto concentrated on his swirling chakra and managed to pull off a single Kage-bunshin, without hand seals, and ordered it to check upon the new arrivals. The patients were Warrington, Bulstrode, Goyle, Malfoy, and Crabbe. '_All from that Green House, all were part of toad-lady's team._' "Where's Umbridge?"

The old witch struggled futilely in his hold, but then relented, " A second year witnessed Umbridge following Harry Potter and Hermione Granger into the Forbidden Forest, and then only Potter and Granger walking back out. I was about to look for Filius, uh Professor Flitwick, for his aid to fetch her back."

'_Why would someone like Umbridge go to the Forbidden Forest? Doesn't she hate magical creatures in general? The Forest is full of different species. Ergo, she's stupid to even think about setting foot into a place with giant spiders and centaurs and… Oh Kami.' _His bunshin popped. "Hagrid's brother," he murmured in hushed glee and horror, imagining the giant cart off Umbridge off into the distance, never be seen again. '_I hope that Grawp does bad things to that woman. And somehow, they get beaten and end up here,'_ he shot a pointed look at the Slytherins, _But…' _"Where's Potter?"

"He, Granger, Lovegood, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, and Longbottom have disappeared from the castle." Her voice sounded robotic, she became dead weight but her mind still jumped from thought to thought, 'Minerva and Filius were frantic when they learned about the disappearances, and then Severus was gone too, but at least he told the rest of the staff he was leaving.'

Naruto scrunched his face in thought, his eyes squinting into the distance. '_Ok, think like Shikamaru- there's a puzzle piece that I don't have. Harry left willingly with his friends to a place after defeating the first group of people that attempted to stop him from doing something. Doing what? Leaving? Why leave? And where to?' _

The sunlight came through the windows and the curtains, casting an orange glow throughout the Hospital Wing. The scene was like a painting: Naruto was the accuser and Pomfrey was the defeated. The unconscious Slytherins cast their horrible shadows on the curtains that separated them from the rest of the room, giving the impression of grotesque and mutilated shadow puppets. A bird chirped outside, disguising the distant sounds from the forest— neighs from horses, roars from some creature, and Naruto liked to think he heard a woman's shrieks; the noises were so far away they seemed unimportant.

The blond ninja searched through all his conversations with the wizard, '_Harry usually speaks about mundane things except for the Vol-de-Mort problem and his dreams. Wait, his dreams are usually about a corridor and we were trying to protect his mind from invasion by Vol-de-Mort who kept wanting to go to that place in the Department of Mysteries. Shit. Potter wouldn't be too reckless as to rush in with a ragtag team of kids as old as he is into a strange location would he…? And isn't the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic, the Magical Government? Double shit. And because Harry is going, that means that Shikamaru, Hinata, and Neji followed. What about Hyuuga Michi? Can they still save her?'_

Going against any powerful government was practically suicide, especially when it was a solo mission to be done out in the open. Naruto looked down and pondered, not realizing how close and yet how far his deductions came to the actual truth. Staring at the tile floor, Madame Pomfrey waited anxiously for her sentence, and hoped that it would be light. Finally, the verdict arrived in the form of a non-verdict, "Old hag," Naruto started happily, "you're going to do something for me and you're going to do it well. You're going to make me a portkey."

OoO

The archway had an archaic beauty about it; the gently rippling veil that hung from the top intrigued him enough that he felt a very strong inclination to climb up on the dais and walk through it. "Sirius?" Harry Potter asked again and then turned to his crew, "Someone's whispering behind there." He walked around the sunken pit, frowning in thought, "Is that you, Ron?"

"I'm here, mate," said Ron, appearing around the side of the archway.

"Can't anyone else hear it?" Harry demanded, for the whispering and murmuring was becoming louder; without really meaning to put it there, he found his foot was on the dais.

"I can hear them too," breathed Luna, joining them around the side of the archway and gazing at the tattered black, swaying veil, "There are people in there!" Her comment was ridiculous to the normal witch or wizard, but Harry Potter's entire life was far from normal by any stretch of its definition. To Harry, Luna's words made perfect sense.

OoO

A toad appeared on the Godaime Hokage's desk in a 'POOF' loud enough to elicit a scream from the, surprisingly, sober woman. The toad handed over a scroll and a sock; on the scroll was written a message in a rushed hand and blotchy ink—

_Obaa-san— It's bad here. Some magical officer looked through my head like a Yamanaka without my permission and did something weird that knocked me out for a couple of months when they tried to arrest me when I was doing my job. I just woke up and found that Potter, some of his friends, Shikamaru, Neji, and Hinata are going to the Ministry of Magic on an illegal mission. I think our people are also trying to get back someone we lost. Umbridge, from what I've heard, is suitably detained. I don't know any of the important details or what's going on besides what I just wrote; no one is telling me anything. I need emergency backup or at least more political clout, I have a feeling that the Minister is going to try again to legally 'capture' a ninja. I managed to get a portkey made by a witch who swore on her power it would work right. The codeword is 'Sharingan.' I need help NOW. Trust no witch or wizard. Dattebayo!~Naruto._

OoO

Shikamaru unsealed the storage scroll with a drop of his blood, and immediately, medical supplies appeared on the ground. Hinata tenderly nursed Neji, who was awake though still weak enough to need assistance moving, to some semblance of health. After unlocking the foreign chakra's effects from both the Hyuuga prisoners' bodies, she breathed a sigh of relief, "_He will be able to make a full recovery once we head home. Michi-chan will need a few days of sleep, the physical tests they placed her through happened such a long time ago that she has already healed._" Neji leaned into his cousin's embrace and stared forward unwaveringly.

Brushing the bangs from her face, Michi suggested casually, "_You can have me watch Neji as you go to complete your mission. I'll take him to the branch halls, Hinata-sama can find us and there aren't any people there at all. The wizards usually check on us in the mornings so you can go save the Potter boy._"

The Nara sighed, "_Our clients have been unnecessarily withholding valuable information that could have endangered our safety and has also turned passively hostile towards us. It would be reasonable to declare the mission as a broken contract._"

"_B-but_," Hinata protested, "_Harry is just a boy, brave, but innocent. Still, I feel that he is developing his own Will of Fire within him; we know him on a personal basis. I see him as a friend and even though ninjas are not supposed to get attached to the mission. We can't just maliciously leave him to die…"_

A silent debate, a battle of wills and determination. After some time, it was obvious who won.

"Mendokuse."

OoO

**S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.**

**Dark Lord**

**And (?) Harry Potter**

When Harry took the dusty, glass orb from its shelf, nothing whatsoever happened. His companions moved in closer around Harry, gazing at the orb as he brushed it free from the clogging dust. And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice said, "Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."

_Chapter Thirty-five: Beyond the Veil_

Neji and Michi were in a separate room, waiting to be picked up after they had found Potter-san. If all went according to plan, Shikamaru and Hinata would manage to and bring both Harry and Co., and Neiji and Michi back to Hogwarts. The plan only sounded easy. Shikamaru couldn't resort to his normal tactics, it took too long to strangle someone and he couldn't freeze everyone in the room at once, and still have enough power to prevent them from struggling.

Shikamaru slid under the closed door, pulling Hinata with him, remaining so thoroughly blended with the shadows that he his form melted into the dark spaces where the walls met the ground. '_We must be at the right place. I can hear Harry's voice, along with the students who were with him in Umbridge's office, but there are also other adults there._' He squinted past the shelves and rows of glass orbs and tried to discern the unknown voices out of the mass volume that was coming from the wraiths that floated from the broken glass on the floor. '_Harry is standing defensively, he's cornered. That's Malfoy Lucius, suspected follower of the man who wants to kill Harry._'

There were a lot of enemies, probably numbering twenty or so. He dimly wondered if the reason the Dark Lord sent out so many followers was because of the ninjas. Thank Kami that Harry wasn't as stupid as he acted, it seemed like the wizard had a plan— to stall. Though he was blatantly showing his thoughts with his body language, it looked like the black figures in skull masks, the Death Eaters, were even stupider and not picking up on the signals. "And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?" Harry asked cautiously and curiously.

"About both of you, Potter," Malfoy Sr. caustically sneered, "about both of you… Haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?"

'_Probably not_,' Shikamaru thought sourly, cracking his knuckles. '_Potter never knew what he should and shouldn't be wondering about. I would bet my deer herd that Dumbledore knew from the start of this entire mess and never told Harry. I wonder why, it would be more logical for boy to know something that concerned him, especially, if my research is right, after the many times he has met Volde-mort in some form or another. I wonder why. Did the Headmaster take a special pleasure in keeping his soldier in the dark? The Godaime would never do that._' As an insane, black-haired woman shrieked and cackled, he stepped out of the shadows, still out of sight, pulled Hinata away and flashed her some quick hand signs, outlining a rough battle plan. The moment the kunoichi nodded in assent, he began to move.

OoO

"So he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he?" said Harry. "Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it— and Bode?"

"Very good, Potter, very good…" said Malfoy slowly."But the Dark Lord knows you are not un— " The man suddenly froze in place like he was petrified, mouth still open. Eyes widened in fear, they were the only thing that moved.

'Wait a moment.' The Boy-Who-Lived thought as his gaze traveled down the man and to his shoes, where on the dimly lit, black marble floor, his shadow stretched back behind him in a band so thin that it was probably the width of his index finger, 'I've seen this before.' His eyes followed the band to the back corner of the shadows where he saw a silhouette of two figures, one obviously a girl and the other a spiky-haired boy who was crouching down with his two hands joined together. He heard Bellatrix scream incoherently and took his chance, "NOW!"

Five different voices behind him bellowed "REDUCTO!" Five curses flew in five different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit. Splintered wood hit the floor; as the towering structures swayed, hundreds of orbs broke and shattered till pieces of glass were falling to the ground like a silver shower. Pearly-white figures unfurled into the air and floated there, their voices discerning the future, echoing the past, telling what could have been and what will be. They were not heard.

Harry saw a flash of movement directly behind Lucius, who was released in the chaos. Hinata bent back to allow a red spell to fly above her and used her momentum to give a kick to the Death Eater's torso. It connected, sending the wizard flying back but not before he managed to shoot a sickly-fast orange spell back that connected with Hinata's left arm. "RUN!" Harry yelled, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a red tinge appeared on the ninja's skin and began to creep slowly upward, its progress halted under the elbow where she had placed her glowing green hand. The shelves swayed precariously and more glass spheres began to pour from above, he seized a handful of Hermione's robes and dragged her forward, one arm over his head as chunks of shelf and shards of glass thundered down upon them.

A Death Eater lunged forward through the cloud of dust, but someone appeared in front of him and elbowed the masked face, hard, before swiping through the material with a sort of dagger that extended over the knuckle, leaving a trail of blood almost suspended in the air. The Death Eater's scream sounded almost like an inhuman gurgle. Shikamaru didn't even flinch when droplets of blood splattered his face, "Go!"

Harry didn't need to be told twice. He found the way ahead of him clear and saw Ron, Ginny, and Luna sprinting past him, their arms over their heads. Dodging spells left and right, narrowly missing one that was a familiar green, he heard the ninja yell, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" and felt a sudden heat so hot he felt the hairs at the nape of his neck burn behind him. What sort of magic did these ninjas use? A nagging curiosity urged him to glance backwards, but he resisted and turned right.

Two hands caught him by the shoulder; he heard Hermione shout "_Stupefy!"_ and one hand released him at once, while two metal, spiked circles suddenly hit the wrist of the other hand that held him, spraying blood as that hand also released him. Ginny screamed in horror and Harry felt extremely lightheaded and shocked. He could hear footsteps right behind him and Hermione's voice urging Neville on. At his right, Hinata was running on the walls, following him closely, looking in every way a normal girl except for a red arm, which she cradled close to her chest.

'Then again, Ron said that she attacks by touching people.' He snidely thought. Ahead was the glittering light of the bell jar and the threshold, which he pelted through first and waited impatiently for the others to hurtle over, 'come on, come on,' before slamming the door behind them—

"_Colloportus!_" gasped Hermione and the door sealed itself with an odd squelching noise.

OoO

"Funny, you see," a Death Eater laughed as he shot off a chain of spells at the Nara heir, "about those potions. It's dead useful though it's Dark Magic, to be able to have your senses more alert and your sense of time moving more slowly. It's so we can kill nasty foreigners like you." The other black-robed figures, eight in all, surrounded the ninja and appeared to enjoy toying with him.

A purple spell in the shape of an 'X' flew over. The ninja ducked underneath, gritting his teeth in frustration, his hands moved into two seals, '_Snake… Rat…' "Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique."_

OoO

Naruto held on for dear life, feeling the chilled wind to his very bones, squeezing his thighs against the thestral's torso for dear life. In his hand was an elaborate seal, made at the last minute, to determine the destination for whomever Baa-chan might send over via Portkey as backup. He was a lone figure against the cloudy sky, heading for London. The skeleton horse banked to the left and he bit his lip hard enough to bleed so that he wouldn't scream in terror.

OoO

"I don't know what they hit him with," said Luna sadly, "but he's gone a bit funny, I could hardly get him along at all…"

'_These events have certainly taken a turn for the worst. I wonder how my bunshin is doing with the group of Death Eaters…_' Shikamaru rolled his eyes at Ron's antics that indicated complete insanity and waited patiently for Hinata to finish bandaging up her left arm which she described as having liquid fire flowing through your veins, making your skin extra tender and prone to peeling at the slightest friction, even air, against it. Luna helped by petrifying the red arm and later the entire cast to prevent movement. Ron giggled weakly into Harry's ear, "Loony Lovegood… ha ha ha… And they're ninjas, bad people." Hinata paused in her motions, Hermione groaned, and the Nara wondered if the spell held a Freudian element in its design, "We have that Uzumaki kid with us, without him, we can't control them. Dumbledore said that, you know. But, heh heh, can't let them ninjas know."

"They're quite good people, Ronald," Luna reprimanded the redhead. "If you only took the time to get to know them rather than listening to Dumbledore's prejudice. Even great wizards can fall under the lies of first impressions and assumptions."

"We've got to get out of here," said Harry firmly, determined to change the subject. "Luna, can you help Ginny?"

"Yes," said Luna, sticking her wand behind her ear for safekeeping, putting an arm around Ginny's waist and pulling her up despite the stubborn girl's protest.

Meanwhile, the shadow-user watched, while supporting the befuddled boy, as Harry looked around the room at the doors. '_Shouldn't he have figured out how the Department operates? Does he really think that he will prevail with a one-in-a-twelve chance of choosing the right door?_' He crossed his arms and casually asked, "You do know that you have to will for an escape, right?"

The bespectacled wizard stared at him with such obvious puzzlement that Shikamaru had to resist the urge to smack him in frustration. After going through three such spinning chambers of doors after finding the captured Hyuugas, he and Hinata realized that the Department of Mysteries responded to thoughts and willpower. Because the Department felt a strong will to find Harry and his friends, whichever unlocked door they chose, it didn't matter which, would take them to where they wanted to be. The reason Shikamaru didn't find out when Hinata and he were trying to find Michi and Neji, was because he had shadow-walked under the doors and they hadn't wholly existed as humans. If Harry wanted to save Sirius, who obviously was not even in the Ministry, the Department would lead them to wherever Harry subconsciously wanted to go, which was the never-ending hallways of glass orbs. If visitors to the Department didn't want to be found, they would stay hidden, but only if their will was stronger than that of their pursuers. If Harry willed an escape, he would get it. If Harry wanted to prolong the adventure, the Department would likewise obey. If the Death Eaters wanted to find Harry, they would find him.

Unfortunately, there was no time to explain any of this. A door across the hall burst open and three Death Eaters sped into the hall, led by Bellatrix Lestrange. "There they are!" she shrieked.

OoO

Hyuuga Michi dragged Negi through the door and slammed it behind her, panting heavily, praying her hardest that she wouldn't be found. Her minders had just realized that Neji and she were not where they left them. She hugged her fellow branch member close to her chest and looked around, '_I'm so weak right now. Neji-kun's breathing is too shallow and getting worse but he managed to whisper to me what has happened to Nara and Hyuuga-sama because of Uzumaki's special knowledge transferring seal. I can only hope that the Unspeakables and Aurors will find Potter and the others first and forget about us. But right now, they're on our tail.'_ She looked around the blue room and at each door and picked one; she held out a trembling hand to the knob and turned. '_I need to get away._'

OoO

After the planets and brains, at the edge of the dais by the dark archway and its veil, Harry could only watch helplessly as Bellatrix began to torture Neville into insanity, ready to join his parents at St. Mungo's. "Now, Potter, either give us the prophecy, or watch your little friend die the hard way!" At the witch's demands, he was prepared to hand over the prophecy, which was hot in his clutching hand as he held it out. Malfoy jumped forward to take it.

Then, high above them, two doors burst open and five shots of light, trailing white smoke, shot down into the room and transformed into five people: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley.

Malfoy turned and raised his wand, but Tonks had already sent a Stunning Spell right at him. Harry did not wait to see whether it had made contact, but dived off the dais out of the way. The members of the Order quickly took formation and assisted the ninjas' efforts in defeating the Death Eaters. Lupin and Shikamaru found themselves fighting back to back; the latter used the time to relay a modified account of the events that had taken place. Lupin shot two black spells in quick succession and murmured loud enough, "Do you think it's wrong to withhold information from Harry then?"

The other snorted and murmured, "Kage Nui." Lupin glanced over his shoulder briefly and watched in mute interest as shadows from the ground extended from the ninja's feet and whip about like needles, piercing two Death Eaters in the shoulders. The werewolf heard a soft curse, "Shimatta. Low on chakra." Nara replied to his question, "Yes, I think it's wrong. But I don't think it's any of my business, this isn't my war."

"But if you don't fight, the war will probably land on your doorstep," Lupin pointed out mildly, despite whipping his wand in an arc.

"DUMBLEDORE!" Neville yelled a little ways off, staring over Harry's shoulder, his face shining with sweat. Sure enough, directly above them, framed in the doorway from the Brain Room, stood Albus Dumbledore, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. The ninja secretly admitted that he felt an electric charge of relief surge through his body. He couldn't observe the multiple battles around him, not even Hinata's; his mind must be focused on the skirmishes in front of him.

Dumbledore sped down to basin. There were yells; Death Eaters tried to escape, one scrabbled away like a monkey up the stone steps opposite. Dumbledore's spell pulled him back as easily and effortlessly as though he had hooked him with an invisible line.

'_Maybe if I don't help you, I won't come back here and hear the voices of the dead whispering to me_ _from the arch and the veil_.' Shikamaru thought. "I think," He said slowly and deliberately, "that I will take my chances leaving you wizards to deal with the problems that you have created. Working together with your kind is perhaps one of the last things I want to do again." He threw both of his trench knives that were imbued with his chakra into the shadows of two of the Dark Lord's followers, effectively trapping them; at the same time, Lupin managed to hit a Stunner point blank at his opponent's chest.

The ninja saw the sandy-haired man turn around, looking like he wanted to say something.

There was a red light and it seemed like time decided to stand still. Shikamaru and Remus Lupin turned and watched in stunned horror as Sirius Black fell through the ancient doorway that was the arch and disappeared behind the veil, his eyes widened in shock, there seemed to be a hint of laughter on his face. The veil fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place. There was a triumphant scream from Bellatrix Lestrange…

"SIRIUS!" Shikamaru heard Harry yell, "SIRIUS!"

_Chapter Thirty-six: The Only One He Ever Feared_

Kingsley looked around at the battle. At the moment of Sirius's death, Hinata Hyuuga's fighting style became more ferocious, 'Had they been close?' Or was the female ninja merely using the death as a new motivation to win; it seemed quite crass,' the black wizard admitted, 'but strangely effective. On the other hand, Shikamaru Nara had begun using two dagger-like weapons to cut his enemies down methodically.

The wizard stood in front of Remus, who was on his knees consumed in his werewolf instinct which moaned and howled at the departure of a pack member. The Auror had seen this only once before and it was a strange sight. Lupin seemed to melt in despair, groaning in emotional pain, grabbing his hair and pulling violently, muttering, "Padfoot. Padfoot. Padfoot…," like a mantra. It was rather chilling.

Dumbledore had already rushed after Harry, who had ran after Bellatrix in a fit of murderous rage. The remaining Death Eaters, two in all, were quickly being overcome by the forces from the Ninja Continent. Of the Death Eaters, twelve were dead and the rest were injured and bound. He deduced that the foreigners must not usually take any prisoners. He watched Hyuuga brush her fingers against different points of Avery's body and him suddenly collapsing, writhing on the floor in excruciating pain and screaming for mercy. She wasted no time, turning to her next opponent, Nott, who was held down by the Nara's strange shadow magic. 'It's heartbreaking. How can they fight like this? Killing without a second thought, is this natural in their country? They're probably not any older than Harry and yet they have seen so much more.'

OoO

Neji groaned in pain. A door behind Hyuuga Michi flung open. A stranger, a man, said, "That's her. I know it's her." The young girl spun on her heels, hugging Neji close to her.

Two wizards, an Unspeakable and an Auror, walked in with their wands pointed at her head, "The Minister of Magic would like to see you."

OoO

The commotion was dying down, the Death Eaters were tied up, and the Order members were taking stock of their injuries and trying to heal themselves. Hinata sat down on the first step to the dais, hung her head, and sighed, cradling her left arm close to her chest. It was hard to fight with only one good hand when the Taijutsu style required both, but she had managed.

Sirius's death had hit her hard. She remembered the times he had spoken to her at his house. He was a kind soul, fun-loving yet scared, a dichotomy and enigmatic in a way. Despite their limited time together, she would miss him dearly. She wondered how Harry had fared after he ran after that horrid woman. She wished that she could've helped, but Dumbledore had followed them, and through rather obscure communication, had ordered her to leave him alone to find himself. It wasn't as if Harry was going to the lakeside to ponder life, he was running after a convict. What was Harry? Bait?

She closed her eyes. Overall, the mission hadn't been too bad, she had expected worse. All she needed to do was recover her breath, get Shikamaru and her cousins, and head back to school.

And as if Kami was laughing at her, two Aurors, Minister Fudge, and Headmaster Dumbledore walked through the door. The Minister looked like he had a bone to pick and the moment he saw her and her teammate, his eyes lit up in malicious glee. Hinata's heart sank.

_Chapter Thirty-seven: The Lost Prophecy_

Minister Cornelius Fudge sat down behind his desk in a big ornamented armchair, and gestured for his two foreign guests to sit down in the chairs across from him, noting with smugness that they had to be prodded and shoved into their respective seats. 'How does it feel to be on the other side of power, foreigners? Was it an unpleasant surprise for you to realize how fast tables can turn?' He thought, situating himself in what he believed to be the most imposing manner. 'I've been planning for this moment with Dumbledore for a long time, and finally, I'll make you pay.' Dumbledore moved swiftly to his side, wordlessly showing where where his allegiances lay, while the two Aurors stood at the door with their wands at the ready. This meeting had been delayed for far too long.

Since the fateful day at Potter's Wizengamot hearing, when Dumbledore released news of Potter's new bodyguards, he had been sending Ministry employees rushing between his office and the Daily Prophet, running interference on bad press and promoting good press. He had taken upon himself, due to multiple complaints from concerned parents and nervous public opinion, to needle the Headmaster and his faith in his decision, and find out more about the foreigners. Sending Dolores to Hogwarts was a risky move because the woman's objectives were not only to force Potter into committing a crime, but also to as be play the unfortunate victim, if the ninjas ever attacked.

Then Dumbledore had switched tactics and met with him secretly, presenting a wealth of information on the foreigners, that had the potential to change Wizarding Britain into the premiere country of the Magical World. The ninjas managed to have magical stores that were way off the charts, and could even specialize in particular skills; if that physical secret was ever found and exploited… Cornelius Fudge could be Minister for life, he could finally get a leg up on the international political stage of the Wizarding World, and he could finally show the damned Russo-Sino-American Alliance the consequences of messing with him. He could easily take over Magical Spain and extend his control westward all the way to South America.

The large magical cores of the Japanese were a primary research topic among the Unspeakables. Dumbledore had already placed a girl years ago, one of the pureblooded foreigners, in their hands, but research was slow-going at best because of some advanced block that prevented any mental intrusion. But after Dumbledore's actions, according to the reports, the entire Ninja Continent closed off all borders so that nobody could go in or out except for Leaders and Ambassadors and the patrols were twice as vigilant. That was why the Supreme Mugwump pulled out his remaining trump card, a favor to be done for him by the Hokage, a leader of the Fire Country. While the man Dumbledore had gotten the favor from had since died, he obliged the sitting Hokage to honor the deal, who immediately sent out four of her best ninjas. The elaborate plan boiled down to one essential move: take the ninjas into the underground Department of Mysteries, and the rest was history.

The aged wizard bent down and murmured into Fudge's ear, "Do you have the arrest warrants ready?" The Minister nodded and tapped on a drawer discreetly, eyes straight ahead watching his two guests. Everything was going according to plan; perhaps the only feeling that bothered him is was Dumbledore's motives beyond this plan. The Headmaster nodded and headed to his fireplace, presumably to meet with Potter who had been dropped back off at his office.

'The old man probably wanted to make a group of enhanced hit-wizards to defeat You-Know-Who,' Fudge thought and snorted into his tea, 'and then take over my Minister position. But I won't let him; I'll make my own army and have them loyal only to me.' His grip on his cup was so tight that his hands began shaking, 'I need to act fast. Word is going to spread quickly that You-Know-Who really is back, and that I've been keeping the public in the dark the entire time. I have to distract the public by offering them the foreigners' secrets and then try to get the Light families on my side and maybe take Scrimgeour out of the picture. Only then can I prevent myself from getting a vote of no confidence and loose the reelection. Dumbledore will be too busy fighting the Dark Lord, and I'll have enough time to solidify my position once and for all.'

Someone knocked twice on the door, and nobody in the room jumped in surprise. Cornelius Fudge calmly placed his tea to the side and clapped twice, "Let them in." 'Good thing that Bones isn't here, she was always against every single thing I did." He took the moment to enjoy the décor of his office, green walls, purple furniture: the colors of his family. His tastes were Baroque, maybe even Rococo to a certain extent, and influenced by Mrs. Malfoy when she had come over to his house once for tea with his wife. There was a miniature statue of a griffin, crouching like it was about to attack, on the corner of his desk by his lamp. He touched it once for good luck.

The door creaked open: the two other foreigners, one that had been a bodyguard at Hogwarts and the other was the original research specimen that the Unspeakables had worked on, were pushed forward into the room and down into chairs by another two Aurors. The dark-spiky haired ninja that was sitting down, 'Shikamaru Nara,' according to the files Dumbledore had supplied, glanced impassively at his collaborators before turning back to face the Minister. His partner, Hinata Hyuuga, allowed her gaze to stay for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. A smile curled to the Minister's lips, 'So, she was affected. Good.' He waved his hand, one of his Aurors casted a sound-proofing spell on his door.

The girl, Michi Hyuuga, whispered something in Japanese that, according to the translator in his ear, meant, "We sorry but found they door behind." Her companion, Neji Hyuuga, was in quite bad shape. Cornelius tsked under his breath, hoping that the boy wouldn't have a fainting spell all over his priceless rug.

"So you recognize each other?" Cornelius clasped his hands together and leaned over the desk, "Care to explain why a Hogwarts guard and one of our high profile inmates were found together in in a restricted area of the Ministry? Do you know how badly that looks?" The four ninjas were all bound by unbreakable ropes and temporary magical-blocking seals, that were all legal and just for criminals waiting to hear their sentence.

The young girl glared at him and then swiveled her gaze to the West wall, where Fudge had placed all his memorable photographs and awards. All the Ministers in the photographs were trapped, repeating their actions, always waving, winking, accepting awards, giving speeches, and shaking hands. In the photographs, there were always flashes of light from other photographers. Ah, those were proof of his heyday.

The elder girl didn't react as he had hoped as her reply was steely, "Hyuuga Michi isn't yours. She belongs to my family. I should be asking you why she was contained in your facilities against her will and tortured for information." Her posture was erect, there were manners in her and she displayed them with such poise, even with the curse on her arm. He grudgingly respected that.

Yet, he brushed her comment aside. "You were breaking and entering weren't you?" he asked gleefully. "And in a highly secured area, that's a crime, my dear. What were you doing down there, I wonder. Plotting against our government? Or worse? The little girl is ours and has been a ward of this state since she was a child. You have no proof that she belongs to you. Be quiet, you wouldn't want to provoke an international incident, would you?"

"I daresay you want to cause an incident," Nara, the assumed head of the ragtag group, said icily. "The simplest way to resolve this conflict is to go to our leader and demand adequate proof that Michi Hyuuga belongs to the Hyuuga family of Fire Country. But I have a feeling you won't do that."

Fudge laughed gaily, he was in his element, as a fish was in water. "Britain's law states that the Minister can hold suspect persons, namely foreign mercenaries in your case, for a week, or until they manage to contact the appropriate ruler. If unable to establish contact with the suspects' home government, the Minister reserves the right to call for a trial of the aforementioned arrested persons and if convicted, the Minister is the sole arbiter of punishment. Unfortunately, I have no means of contacting your 'Kage' as you call them, since Dumbledore's way is only works once. Perhaps you might offer a suggestion?"

He turned his chair and flicked his wand, wordlessly summoning an ancient law book from the large bookcase onto his desk. With another wave of his wand, he flipped the pages to the specific international law he cited. The boy didn't look down to see it; he knew he didn't have to. An Auror by the door reapplied the Sound ward; his partner leaned casually against the wall, not suspecting there to be any confrontation.

The Nara's eyes narrowed in hostility but Fudge didn't allow it to affect him, "No? I heard that your other teammate, the blond, is the only one with the ability. You should hope that he'll be able to wake up from his unfortunate coma and find out about your position fast enough to help you." He tapped his chin in mock thought, "But then again, I have enough proof to convict Mr. Uzumaki of attacking with the intent to harm a Ministry worker, pensieve memories and witness accounts. I might have to place magical binds on him to prevent him from harming anyone else. Oh dear, it looks like you're in quite a conundrum. What will you do?" Leaning back, he relaxed against the cushioning charm against his back, inwardly wincing at the tension on his neck. No worries though, his wife could take care of it later.

The Nara stood up suddenly, making two of his Aurors rush to point their wands at his throat. "You're manipulating the law, Fudge-san," he whispered quietly.

To further show his control over the situation, Fudge walked around the desk and stood directly in front of the ninja. "No," he whispered, "I don't think I am. The people who will be serving on the jury have been hearing a lot about your exploits at the castle from the newspapers, all the bad things that you have done in public and how powerful and dangerous you are. Willful killers with just a touch or a weapon, a manipulator of shadows, one with the ability to clone oneself, and now, rumors say, you can control the elementals. Nobody in this country likes you; in fact, they all fear you and what you represent. I think it would be in their best interest to see you locked up." He straightened up and adjusted his tie. "But a week is between us and that fateful day. But for now," he walked back to his desk and took out the arrest warrants, not even bothering with the proper wording, "you are hereby arrested for treason against the Commonwealth of Wizarding Britian. Aurors, take them—"

At that moment, his door blew up.

OoO

In his head, Shikamaru was panicking, to put it lightly. Everything had gone from bad to worse: Hinata and he had allowed themselves to be taken to the Minister's office, only to realize it was a trap. The wizards had blocked off their access to chakra somehow, and had physically restrained them with conjured ropes as Fudge was speaking. And now, through roundabout logic and political maneuverings, he found himself on the wrong side of the law.

But then, the door behind him was blasted through with a powerful burst of chakra, one that was easily recognizable. His entire posture relaxed in relief, '_They masked their presence too well coming here, or it might be because the Aurors had sealed the door that I didn't sense them._'

"What is going on here?" Both Minister Fudge and Senju Tsunade demanded at the same time. The Aurors were brought to their knees by the sheer pressure of some invisible force. The Godaime had let her chakra leak out, until it was rolling off in waves around the room, Shikamaru easily shrugged off the Auror's ropes and looked around; Hinata was mimicking his actions and Neji and Michi were both being tended to by Naruto. Naruto woke up? Kami was truly smiling down upon them. Tsunade was wearing formal clothing under a large cloak that displayed little of her physique, but she still looked like royalty and very much comfortable with her power. Shikamaru noted humorously that the photos on the walls were still moving in a never ending cycle, unaffected by what was happening in the real world.

Minister Fudge, surprisingly, had managed to stay standing by holding onto the edge of his desk and, no doubt Shikamaru thought, due to his pride. He raised his wand in his shaking hand and stammered, "W-Who are you? Why did you intrude upon an important, private meeting— I can have you a-arrested for your actions! I am the M-minister of Magical Britain, answer me!"

Tsunade looked at the man like he was an interesting piece of dirt, first impressions of course were very important, "I am the Hokage, the supreme head of the Village Hidden in the Leaves of Fire Country, and these people you are holding are under my command. I demand to know the reason they are being held like common criminals." Her voice was laced with chakra that could whip about and emotionally manipulate grown men to do her biding. She was larger than life, almost like a supernatural being, at least more so than the Minister of Magic.

The man's mouth opened and closed in shock, a strangled noise forced its way through his sputtering lips but it was too mangled to be clear. To the ninjas, it sounded suspiciously like, "Preposterous!" Trying to retain his tattered dignity, the rotund wizard took another set of breaths and asked loudly, "How am I to know that you are the leader of a country? You bring _him _in here even though he's a wanted criminal!" He pointed to Naruto who stood casually by the wall, his eyes glued upon her chest, "You look nothing more than a common har—." His next words died on the tip of his tongue.

'_Killing intent_,' Shikamaru thought vindictively, '_directed solely towards him_.' His nose wrinkled at the smell that permeated the room, while the Minister's cheeks reddened in shame. The four Aurors, barely adjusted to the looming feeling that still hung in the office, struggled to stand and point their wands at the intruder. They wanted to protect their leader, but were unsure whether they had the ability to do so. The shadow manipulator watched the entire proceedings, taking note of everything that is was happening and trying to learn. '_The next reasonable step would be for Hokage-sama to cement her position as higher than anyone else. She should show a part of her power, not so little as to look weak but not too much as to be too threatening. Political intrigue means that she has to imply much of her strength_.'

Tsunade glanced briefly at the four other men and walked around to the other side of the Minister's desk, and Fudge yielded the position as he scurried away from her. The two leaders switched places. The Hokage's fist rested, clenched on the desk as she leaned over the politician, to make herself more intimidating and to mockingly show off more of her cleavage. The desk cracked twice the strain of her fist. Tsunade's eyes lowered demurely to the deep impression in the wood; Fudge's and his Aurors' gaze followed and then back up. The woman widened her eyes innocently as if to say, "Oops." The Aurors discreetly lowered their wands back to their sides but Tsunade's lethal smile didn't disappear until they tucked them back into their holsters.

"Mr. Uzumaki, once he awoke from his coma that was caused by your people, kindly informed me of recent events and escorted me to your country. He, as are the others, is under my protection and any action that you do to him or any of my subordinates will have to go through me. This whole situation, I'm sure, is one big misunderstanding," the Hokage said sweetly as she lowered herself into the chair that Fudge had previously sat in; he didn't dare protest. She flicked her wrist casually, "I think in order to avoid further confusion, we should talk right now, in private. Wouldn't you agree?"

The minister nodded jerkily and turned to his Aurors, "You heard what she said, take the foreig— ninjas and get out." The Aurors scrambled to obey.

OoO

Twenty minutes ago, Naruto had entered the first level of the Ministry where he found a swarm of Aurors blocking his way. The moment the group of wizards saw him they started yelling, "That's the dangerous foreigner! He needs to be placed under arrest! Get him now!"

Feeling nonplussed, Naruto looked at Tsunade, who snorted in contempt and gave him permission. _'I might as well just make our way though here with something big, a big force of nature should do the trick._' After biting his thumb in a well-practiced manner, he moved his hands fluidly from one seal to another, '_Pig, Dog, Rooster, Monkey, Sheep…_' Pushing as much chakra as he could into the jutsu, he slammed his hand to the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

OoO

Auror Brown's head spinned, 'What… What just happened? First we were called here from our stations due to the reports that the Ministry was being infiltrated by followers of You-Know-Who. Then we see a woman and the blond ninja who we were supposed to take into custody once he woke up. And now there's this giant toad…'

She was flat on her back with her partner sprawled out over her stomach, unconscious. She tried to sit up but someone, that Uzumaki ninja, landed on her chest, knocking her breath out of her. The blond boy leaned over and gave a grin that revealed his sharper than normal canines, "Konichiwa!" She stole a look around and realized that out of all her team, she was the only one awake. In the corner of the Atrium was a toad so big that its head was three times the height of an average person. She looked back up at the boy who was twirling her wand around his hand, "You're going to talk to me," he said casually.

"Now."

OoO

Hinata sat in stunned amazement between Shikamaru and Neji. She felt like pinching herself to make sure that things really had taken a turn for the better, in the form of her highly esteemed Hokage and Konoha's number one most surprising ninja. Neji, who was in deep slumber, had his head rested upon her shoulder; his left arm was wrapped around Hyuuga Michi, who was leaning against him, snoring softly. The four Aurors, now a bit unsure what the procedure was, shifted nervously against the opposite walls, twiddling their wands and stealing looks at her group. She held her wounded arm close and frowned at the damage; it was still painful, little specks of fire running up and down her veins, itching to spread further across her body. But she could ignore that, '_We're safe. We're safe. Oh thank Kami, I was so worried that we would 'legally' be unintentional traitors to our country.'_

The shadow-user turned toward Naruto in a daze and asked, "_That's really Tsunade-sama? Not a henged bunshin?_"

Naruto shook his head and scratched the back of his head, "_Yes, that's Obaa-san. It took a while to travel to this place, sorry if we kept you waiting. But guess what? After Baa-chan finishes her thing with the minister, the mission will be almost over for us. As soon as the Hogwarts school term ends, we can go back home."_

Shikamaru held his face in his hands, leaned back against the wall, and laughed.

_Chapter Thirty-eight: The Second War Begins_

HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED RETURNS

Naruto rolled the newspaper up and looked down at Hyuuga Michi and grinned, fox-like, "_Come on, even if the people in it aren't good, the castle itself is beautiful, I'll show you everything!"_ With a hand to the young girl's back, he guided her down the marble staircase to the Entrance Hall, fussing about her the entire way, "_Hope you have energy to walk. I'm glad that you got better. Madame Pomfrey's potions are really useful, but don't worry, I didn't let her even touch you,_" while ignoring the rest of the student population's bewildered looks and whisperings.

All in all, life was good. After the discussion between Minister Fudge and Baa-chan, the Hokage came out of the office looking like a cat who had just caught a mouse. The remainder of the mission was to be finished because it was the 'honorable thing to do,' not that there was anything to worry about. There was always a bunshin watching Potter and his friends recovering at the Hospital Wing from the shadows. Dumbledore, who Fudge had probably already spoken to, wasn't making any effort to contact him or his teammates, and the only times Naruto ever saw the Headmaster, the old man's gaze was always calculating and cold, but would always benign at the drop of a hat. At their latest meeting, or reunion as Hinata called it, Shikamaru had mused what would happen if they told Potter the façade Albus Dumbledore kept up, but then shrugged and muttered, "_Let them deal with their own problems. Last week is the last time I'm ever pulled into a mess like that."_ Naruto noticed the lack of the word, "_Troublesome_."

At the Entrance Hall, he stopped and pointed, "_See there, Michi-chan? The blond boy is Malfoy Draco, and his two, fat, dumb, bodyguards. The boy with the glasses who Malfoy-san is talking to is Potter-san, but you've seen him before at the Hosital. Did you talk to him? No? Oh well, he's quite boring anyways, can't seem to think for himself. Oh! The man over there is Snape-san, the one who I thought could help us against Umbridge-san but then did nothing."_ Michi clung onto his cloak and watched with her full attention, her eyes flickering over to the four, giant hourglasses on the walls, "_Look there! It's McGonagall-san!"_

Professor McGonagall had just made her way up the stone steps into the castle. She was carrying a tartan carpetbag in one hand and leaning heavily on a walking stick with her other, but otherwise looked quite well. She gave her belongings to Goyle and Crabbe and then exchanged some words with Professor Snape, who was looking increasingly sour as time went by. A shower of rubies fell down into the bottom bulb of an hourglass as she spoke and a number of sapphires fell into another one by it. "_McGonagall-san was the only one who really helped us, even if she was against it, she realized that we were in the wrong. Before, I thought of her as a stickler to rules, but she's like Iruka-sensei in a sense—she knows when to be lenient_," Naruto whispered to Michi's ear.

"I heard that McGonagall was Dumbledore's biggest supporter," Michi remarked, tucking her hair behind her ears.

The shinobi shrugged, "_Guess not_." He then enthusiastically began waving, "_Look! She's coming over to talk right now._"

Sure enough, the witch was working her way up the steps with her walking stick, Naruto and Michi met her halfway up. Upon closer inspection, she looked like she had aged some odd ten years. The Professor took out her wand and waved it in the air, Michi, with her Byakugan activated, noticed a slight change in chakra, which the witched explained by saying, "So we won't be overheard."

"Hello Granny," the blond smiled brightly, holding out a tanned hand. "Are you feeling ok? Do you need me to help you up the stairs?"

She sighed, "No, I'm fine, Mr. Uzumaki. I would just like to talk to you about something." She paused to take a breath before continuing, "Did you know that the Daily Prophet had been slandering and implying things about your group this past year?" The other two nodded. "Did you know that the Daily Prophet now refuses to even mention you?" The wizarding newspaper, while refusing to mention how the ninjas' ability influenced the outcome in the Department of Mysteries, had subtly implied their skills: able to manipulate shadows and fire, able to walk on walls, throw weapons with amazing accuracy, move with speed that the naked eye could not follow, able to form an illusion to make one view their worst nightmares, able to incapacitate with a single touch. The reports, instead of inducing fear, suddenly inspired the public to be in awe of the foreigners.

The other two nodded again. The elder shinobi said wistfully, "It'll be funny, McGonagall-san, to observe the whims of the public. Do you think they're wondering what is going on about us? From a distance, they seem so insignificant and stupid. In fact, nobody here has any common sense, and that means a lot, coming from me." Naruto crossed his arms resolutely and squinted up at the elder woman, "Except for you. You helped us, even though you really didn't need to. We found out about the other things you did."

"You mean…" He nodded seriously.

"You kept me from being further poisoned by the nurse. You tried to view us in an optimistic light, not that we are giving off the smell of roses, but we aren't blood-thirsty killers looking for a way to take over the Ministry. I think," he mused, rubbing his cheek, "that I owe you a favor because of your kindness. Because of you, we found the Ministry of Magic and the Department of Mysteries. In the profiles of the students and teachers that you gave us, we found information about the Order that was important to the mission and the history of the political culture in this world." He looked satisfied, "That's right, I owe you a favor, nothing big, but reasonable. You'll know when you need me, I'll tell Baa-chan, my Hokage, about it." Michi looked up with her nose wrinkled in confusion and opened her mouth to protest but the boy gently hushed her.

Speechless, Professor McGonagall blinked owlishly; she didn't think her actions warranted a _favor_ from a _ninja_. The ninjas always kept to their word to their clients, she could ask for anything from help against Voldemort to having him fetch her catnip. Uzumaki trusted her to not abuse the gift. Some students entered the Great Hall from the double doors, laughing and joking with each other, candies in their hands. McGonagall accepted his favor and took out her wand to release the ward around them. With her walking stick, she passed the duo and headed back to her office.

That meeting was certainly interesting. She wasn't too sure why she wanted to talk to Uzumaki anyways, 'Maybe for some closure. I realized what Dumbledore and the people here did was morally wrong and I tried to lessen the damage. I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn't taken any action. I just wanted to make sure that what I did was right and something that I could be proud of.' A weight lifted off her chest. History will change. Maybe there will be a time when the Magical World and the Ninja Continent can work together without suspicion on either side. Minerva McGonagall would settle for knowing that the truth about ninjas was likely to always be more fantastical than the legends.

OoO

Harry spotted Naruto and Shikamaru talking with Luna. It looked like they're having a private moment and he waffled between wanting to talk to them and staying back because he knew that the ninjas hated to be intruded upon. In the middle of his debate, Luna looked over the ninjas' shoulders and waved; Naruto and Shikamaru turned around, Naruto with his arms behind his head and Shikamaru with his stuffed in his pockets. The wizard gathered his courage and walked over.

"Hey." Naruto cocked his head to the right and parroted back his greeting; his partner grunted reluctantly. There was an awkward silence that Harry Potter tried to rationalize. The shadow manipulator whispered something to his partner in Japanese, who whispered something back, and ushered Luna to follow him. This left Harry in an even deeper pit of awkwardness and it made him think, once again, of the Department of Mysteries fiasco.

His adventure had cost him his godfather, but he had gained the reputation around the world as a martyr, for the second time. Wizarding Britain had finally felt the impact of his words, "Voldemort's come back," and had finally, finally began preparing. The ninjas, according to rumors, had managed to find their lost companion, nearly got arrested by Fudge, but were saved by their ruler who had decided to come, personally, to free her subordinates. But was all the good really worth the bad? Sirius wasn't coming back. Sirius, the only man who truly offered him a family where he could be "just Harry," like he always wanted to be, was gone, past the Veil, never to return. The repercussions for his actions didn't seem great; he won points for Gryfinndor. It was like he was being rewarded to be brash, except… Lupin. The only time Harry met the man; the man gave him a curt greeting without looking at him in the eye and rushed past. It tore him up inside.

"You're leaving," Harry said, but mentally smacked himself for stating the obvious. "I reckon that you're really happy you are." Luna hummed a small tune, gave a quick kiss to Naruto's cheek, and left the two for their privacy.

"Yep!" Naruto beamed and looked around at the hallowed halls of Hogwarts and shuffled his feet. "But this place is so interesting. I'll be sad to leave it, a bit, a tad, not a whole lot anyways."

Bitterness crept into the wizard's tone, "The place where I went to, inside the Ministry, there was a room full of prophecies and one of them was about me and Voldemort." He placed his trust in Naruto, not really knowing why. Perhaps the other boy had an effect on him; Naruto seemed to inspire people around him. Whatever the reason, he let go one of his secrets, not to his friends, but to a boy that had been a complete stranger a year ago. After checking the Marauder's Map for any eavesdroppers, he recalled, word by word, Professor Trelawney's words from all these years ago:

"_THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES… BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES… AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT… AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES… THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…"_

Naruto squinted in thought, "Ano, what do _you _think it means?" He looked to the side at the stone walls that were covered in tapestries about the history of the Founders. Fortunately, there were no nosy portraits in sight.

Harry looked at the tapestry of Slytherin, regal and great, with a green shadow in the shape of twisting serpent behind him, "My birthday is on the last day of July. My parents were active in the war against Voldemort. On Halloween, he came to my house and killed my parents, and he was about to kill me but…" He lifted his fringe to reveal the scar, "And then he was gone. Dumbledore told me that I was the only one capable and destined to destroy him. Only I can kill Voldemort. Dumbledore said that it was my heart, or my ability to love, that had saved me."

He stole a glance at his listener and observed his countenance, "You don't believe him."

"You want to know what I think?" Naruto asked solemnly. "Maybe it was the way I've been raised or my bad English, but my interpretation is different. The ability to love: ahhh…" Naruto scratched the back of his head and held out his hands, palms up, "In my village, we call it the _Will of Fire _that burns in all the inhabitants of Fire Country that makes us loyal to our homeland, it isn't a power, but a force that drives us. So no, I don't believe in the power of love. The things I've seen…" Naruto's eyes glazed, Harry fancied that he might be lost in a traumatic memory, but the ninja managed to snap out of it before Harry began to worry. "I don't know if you're destined to kill Voldemort, Potter. What I hear is this. _If you live, he lives. Only if you die, will he die_**.**"

Harry James Potter felt thunderstruck at this statement; he had never thought of it like that, but it seemed so obvious. The Daily Prophet was beginning to call him the Chosen One, but they had never mentioned the required sacrifice, someone would have to make. 'But the Prophet was informed by Fudge, who was informed by Dumbledore, who didn't bother to tell me…

Back at in the office, after hearing the Prophecy, Harry had dredged up the words from what felt like a deep well of despair inside him, "So does that mean that… that one of us has got to kill the other one… in the end?"

His answer had been, "Yes." But that wasn't true.

No. That wasn't it. It was entirely different. It's most definitely shocking to hear that in order to save the world, one must die first. Naruto was avoiding his gaze, bending his head down so that the light was only on his shockingly yellow hair. The revelation shocked the Boy-Who-Lived to his very core. Dumbledore had still lied to him, after everything that had happened. Was the Headmaster no longer to be trusted? Was the Headmaster ever to be trusted, even back then, in his first year? Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and looked at the tapestry, the red and gold, Godric Gryffindor stood tall and proud with his sword ready in his hands. This… all of this… it was too much for him. He needed to think, sort out his thoughts, first before doing any drastic action and placing any sort conclusion to his life.

"You. Are you coming back?" Harry finally managed choke out, determined to change to subject.

The blond answered his silent pleas by going along with the new line of thought and shrugged half heartedly. Their eyes met, the wizard noticed how blue the ninja's eyes were: like the sky, they were open and inviting. But under the positive shades, there was a base of mistrust, what many would call an enigma wrapped in a puzzle shrouded in mystery.

'Yes or no: he's not going to tell me anything.' The dark haired boy sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Well, this year has been awfully interesting with you here. Sometimes I wished that we…" He trailed off and fingered the edges of Godric's tapestry. 'What did I wish for? If I had the chance to redo everything, what would I change? Would I become better friends with my guards? Would I help them with their mission and they would help me more with my work. Would we begin to have conversations like regular friends, like I do with Hermione and Ron?' The Boy-Who-Lived couldn't help but think, 'What if?' What could have been possible if he had just done something… different?

His gaze was glued to the ground, his embarrassment was evident on his face and he refused to look up from the sandals in front of him. The sandals shifted their weight forward. He heard Naruto's voice barely above a whisper above him and it sent shivers down his back, "Sometimes, in our journey to our goal, we meet a few obstacles along the way, but those obstacles make the journey a journey. Along the way, we don't realize when or why, but we change and hope that it's for the better. You're in a war, Potter, you have to be independent. You have to have communication and learn how to be independent from everyone, even… Dumbledore, but learn when to trust and to rely on others' judgments." Harry looked up at the shinobi who flashed him a thumbs-up, "It's a balance. You have to prepare for the coming War."

Harry James Potter smiled grimly, his grip on his wand tightened. Everything had changed; he had changed. Voldemort was on the move. The Second War had begun.

**End**

Author's Note: I've reread the entire Battle of the Department of Mysteries and I think it's a total joke. Death Eaters used "Impedimenta" and "Stupefy" and "Tarantallegra"? What the hell? If that's called Dark Magic, then Obama idolizes Bush. Next thing you know, there will be a tickling curse and then a tripping jinx: What The Hell? Only dear Bella was a true Death Eater with the Cruciatus Curse and even then, she talked too much to be smart. What about the D.A. and their common sense? They used spells liked "Colloportus" and "Stupefy" and "Petrificus Totalus"; the latter has seven syllables in all. You can do a lot of things in seven syllables. It was a farce of a battle; I think that is what happens when you have an epic series trying to stay children-safe. It just doesn't work unless the author is the second coming since Tolkien. But it isn't Rowling's fault at all, I think she just wanted to make a fantasy, child-friendly novella that will incorporate the wonderful and complex world of magic which, because of popular demand, she was forced to make into something more (and epically failed).

Naruto's interpretation of the Prophecy was mine. Nobody seemed to mention it in any of the future books. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only thing Harry seemed to agonize over was that only he had any modicum of a chance to kill Voldemort once and for all and not about offing himself. If Harry did realize that he had to die first but saw the fact as a non-entity, then Dumbledore's manipulations to him as a child, molding him into that mindset that it's ok to die if he was the Savior to the Wizarding World and that he really has no other choice, and it's really not ok in any way imaginable, is really, really serious.

In this story, there are plot-bumps, not holes, but bumps, where I introduced a plot device but never expanded upon it (staves, possible alliance to Voldemort, Snape's possible cooperation, etc.).

Special thanks to _**Scratchy Wilson**_ who beta-ed the entire thing!

Oh! And if there ever is a sequel (kind of like O.J.'s _If I Did It_), which I don't think there will be, there will have these elements incorporated into the story:

There will be no romance. Harry is independent from everyone and makes more friends outside of Gryffindor. Harry also doesn't rely on the advice of the Half-Blood Prince like they're his sole lifeline. He does better in his classes in general and gets an O in his Potions O.W.L. Harry will still be paranoid over the Malfoy-dilemma. There will be no Deathly Hallows but there are Horcruxes and Slytherin's locket is found earlier in sixth year because Harry reclaims Grimmauld's Place for himself. The ninjas, Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro, are called by McGonagall to help Harry in the Horcrux hunt. Naruto stays at Hogwarts in the shadows and helps Snape once he realizes that Snape is trying to protect the students from the Carrows. The Slytherins redeem themselves by preventing the other House members from receiving torture/detentions. The Battle of Hogwarts is more epic and Harry's final showdown with Voldemort will be halfway decent. Snape will still die.


End file.
